The Warlord and the Dragonborn
by Nidhogg453
Summary: A man banished from his own time joins and helps the Dragonborn on his quest to defeat Alduin. The two will meet many people, and ultimately decide the fate of Mundus (the world of mortals). Follow them as they chase the World Eater across Skyrim.
1. Prologue

Prologue

Our story begins eons ago, in a small temple in the southern mountains of Skyrim. The walls of the antechamber were covered in carvings of past high priests, from the ceiling hung drapes and banners. Fires roared from their sconces in the corners, casting eerie, intertwining shadows from the nine people gathered there. Eight figures were surrounding a kneeling bound man, clothed in rags. The eight were clothed regally, one might even say like kings, each of them wore a mask. The bound man glared through dirty brown hair with burning eyes. Once, before the war, he had stood among these men and called them friends. The men around him were the eight High Dragon Priests, and the bound man was disgusted with what they had become.

Otar the Mad in a mask of Malachite. Raghot of rage in an Orichalcum mask. The brutal Hevnoraak in his Iron mask. The Glorious Mage Morokei in his Moonstone forged mask. The sorrowful Krosis in a rusted iron mask. Vokun the shadow in his Steel mask. The horrific Volsung in his mask made of Corundum. Standing before the bound man, and holding a large scroll, was Nahkriin the vengeful wearing a mask of Ebony.

For what seemed like an eternity, they stood like that. The bound man glaring at the priests and the priests staring back, the masks made it impossible to tell just what emotions their faces betrayed. Nahkriin broke the silence, "For your crimes against the Dov, you are stripped of name, rank, and of your mask. Your name and face will be stripped from all records and your mask sealed away. You are now Govegein, the Outcast. And you shall suffer the same fate as our master Alduin, firstborn of Akatosh." He paused a moment before Krosis spoke up.

"Do you have any last words before your sentence is carried out, Ko- I mean Govegein?" He seemed almost forgiving in his tone, as if this whole thing could be fixed with just a few petty words. Krosis had spent too much time in the wilderness. He barely even knew of the horrors that were committed by the monsters in this room, himself and the bound man included.

The bound man stood, and Raghot and Hevnoraak moved to restrain him again, but Nahkriin raised a hand to stop them. The ragged man did not look like any of the Atmorans, who had settled the area, or even like any of the mer who lived there even before the Atmorans. The Yokudans were as alien to him as the rumored lizard and cat people from the southern lands. He was tall, taller than any of the priests and lean, they all knew that if it weren't for his healing magic, he would be covered in the scars of countless battles. His ears came to a slight point at the top, and his eyes were blue, like many Atmorans, yet wreathed in gold.

The other Priests knew that his lineage was shady, he was found by Paarthunax in lands west of the temple they stood in now, looking again at his face made them uneasy. He spoke, "We all know that while Miraak was insane, but he knew that a shift in power was coming. That the mortals, once oppressed by the dragons would rise up. We can no longer be bound by the Dov. Now with the end of Alduin, the uprisings of man will soon follow. Your cult will not last, your kingdoms will fall, and you will be driven out of your temples. You cannot prete-"

"Enough! Your lies and treachery end here!" shouted Nahkriin as he held up the Elder Scroll and began the incantation. He finished with, "You are banished! Govegein, we shout you out from all our endings until the last!" The Scroll burst into light with these last words and the light enveloped the bound man and he disappeared. Nahkriin rolled the scroll up and held it away from himself as if it was a dead skeever, "Send this filthy thing to the Dwemer, let them do as they please with it."

"He is wrong right?" Volsung asked, "We all know the prophecy the Dwemer told us when they read the scroll, Alduin will return." He looked at the others as he took the scroll.

"Yes," Rahgot replied after a short pause, "we will just have to prepare for that, no matter how long it takes." In a flourish of black robes, he turned to leave. He could barely stand the presence of the other priests, and the outcast was right, they have a war to prepare for.

"Actually I might have a few ideas on the subject, especially after examining the heretics of Solsthiem," Hevnoraak stated before beginning his theories.

* * *

**So . . . yeah re-working the story. I wanted to try to describe our main character better, maybe allude to some other strains in the dragon cult. What do you guys think? Improvements cannot be made without criticism, and if you're not improving, you're dead. **


	2. The Arrival

Chapter 1- The Arrival

As the light faded the man, now an outcast, found his surroundings to have severely decayed. The carvings that were just a moment ago, so detailed and lifelike, were now so faded he could barely tell the faces apart. The banners and drapes were now rotted away, the fires were now dead. Did it work? No I guess I wouldn't be here if it did, unless the Scroll works differently than we guessed. He thought as he rose, examining the empty ruins he now stood in. He looked down at his hands and feet and as he felt magika flow through and the ropes binding him burned away, but something was wrong, it burnt too much. No time to dwell on that, let's see if anyone actually locked up the temple when they were done. The man knew that the people of his time had a tendency to forget to lock their doors. As Krosis used to say, it was a thief's paradise.

He tried the door finding it, thankfully, unlocked. Opening it he found himself in a camp of blue clad, blond men. Most were sitting around a fire, eating and chatting. Some moans could be heard from a nearby tent, by the sounds a medical tent. There was a man, not dressed in the blue uniform crouched by the horses. "Um, hi?" the man tried as he emerged from the small temple, before the nearest soldier, he guessed, proceeded to tackle him to the ground.

"Who are you? How did you get into those ruins, they were empty a few hours ago and I would have noticed a man strange as you passing through the camp." The soldier questioned as he twisted Govegein's arm. The others put down their meal and looked at the commotion. A man dressed in more ornate armor and furs stepped out of a large tent and glared at the two on the ground.

"What about a man as strange as that?" the man under the soldier asked as he attempted to point out the man sneaking through the camp. This man had shoulder length light brown, almost blonde hair and wisps of a beard and was now rifling through some of the armorers wears. He was also tackled and pinned.

The two were dragged towards the horses and tied to one. "Thanks for pointing me out, Breton," he grumbled as they were tied to horses and joined the march that left the encampment. This man was about as tall as the average Atmoran, maybe a little shorter, and fairly muscular, but obviously not a fighter.

"Sorry, I just have a tendency to thwart thieves, I would tell you to ask my friend about it, but we are not on speaking terms anymore. By the way, who is Breton?" The man wondered at this new name. He assumed that the stranger was referring to him, but he could not be sure.

"You're a Breton," the thief replied and at Govegein's questioning look he continued, "You know part man part elf disliked by both, decent with enchantments and amazing conjurers. Sound familiar at all?" The thief looked like he had been away from civilization for a while, his clothes were in tatters and he was covered in dirt.

"I can barely even conjure a familiar, but I am an excellent enchanter." Govegein replied proudly. "For some reason, they always try to kill me."

"I didn't ask for your life story," snarled the thief. Life in the wild at seemed to treat him much worse that it did Krosis.

"Well excuse me for trying to make a friend," the man retorted. Judging by the degradation of the temple he woke up in, it has been some time since the trial. Though, not enough, it seems, for the common language to change.

"You befriend people by turning them in?"

Let's see if he knows of those eight, the man thought. "It worked with Krosis . . . until I eventually stabbed him in the back." Judging by his reaction, or lack there-of, it has been long enough to forget about the dragon wars by most people.

"Hey, prisoners, it's great that you two are bonding and all . . . but shut up." Said the rider they were tied to. They walked in silence for a short time before an arrow tore through the rider's neck. In seconds the group was surrounded by red-clad soldiers. Arrows flew, many hitting their marks' necks or knees. It was a dance of death as blades twirled around the two prisoners. As the horse they were tied to fell, the thief crouched near it attempting to hide while Govegein sat down

"I guess its red against blue?" Govegein calmly inquired. The new comers were obviously not bandits, judging by their fighting style. It was ridged, calculated, these men were trained to kill although they were sloppy.

"Yeah . . ." the thief started, eying his companion. "The so called 'reds' are the Imperial army and the 'blues' are the Stormcloaks trying to 'free' Skyrim from Imperial rule." He was cowering now trying desperately not to get killed.

"An Empire huh? I assumed that the vacuum of power left by the dragons would lead to some form of human rule, but an empire implies something bigger. This and a civil war, Akatosh, you picked a great time to drop me into." The man analyzed what he had learned from these events so far.

"What are you talking about? Dragons!? Oh, by the Divines I'm tied to a madman!" the thief shouted before they were both knocked out by imperial soldiers.

* * *

The man from the past awoke to the jarring motions of a carriage and the worse stench of a horse. "Hey, you're awake." It was the soldier who had roughly greeted him when he left the temple. "Yeah sorry about taking you prisoner and all, you can't be too safe what with all of these Imperials around, huh?" He was bound and sitting next to the newly awoken Breton, and the man in ornate armor sat, gagged, across from him, next to whom sat the thief from the camp.

"Just great, JUST GREAT," the thief exclaimed, "First I'm ratted out by a lunatic," Govegein had to give him that, even he knew that being that calm in an ambush just was not normal, and time travel made lesser beings . . . uneasy. "Then, I'm tied to a horse going who-knows-where, and now I'm captured by the Empire for being a Stormcloak being carted off to who-knows-where-else!" His voice got higher and louder as he progressed. Govegein guessed that he was not used to getting caught, probably not used to stealing either thinking back to his form. "And to top it all off I'm stuck sitting next to some psycho they actually had to gag when they caught him!"

"Watch your tongue!" the Nord next to Govegein shouted, silencing the thief across from him, "You speak to Ulfric Stormcloak the true High King!" The thief's eyes widened and he leant away from the gagged man.

"Stormcloak, huh?" the man across from Ulfric asked, leaning forward. "I guess you are the one leading this little rebellion?" when Govegein said "little rebellion" Ulfric Glared across to him. There was always someone who was upset with whoever they followed. "So if they've caught you . . . then where are we going?"

"Where ever it is, Sovngarde awaits." the soldier replied as they rode into a walled in town he referred to as Helgen. The he began recounting tales about his younger days there. The war worn time traveller took note of the white haired Imperial, referred to as General Tullius by the soldier, talking to some black clad Aldmer looking folks Ralof called the Thalmor. As the carriage stopped, he noticed the Executioner sharpening his axe.

"Krosis," Govegein spat as they filed off of the cart.

"Isn't that your friend's name?" the thief quietly asked him.

"It means sorrow in the dragon language. Used to display disapproval with an outcome, in this case," Govegein replied.

"Dragon? Language? You are crazy aren't you?"

How long have I been gone? Govegein thought, not for the first time. "You wish," was his answer.

"Imperials love their damned lists." The soldier said as an Imperial pulled out the paper. He began reading it, listing off names as Stormcloaks walked towards the headsman.

"Jarl Ulfric of Windhelm," he said and Ulfric stepped forward. "Ralof, of Riverwood," the soldier stepped forward. "Um, who are you two?" he said, double checking the list and gesturing to the two left over men.

"I am Ko- no Bei- . . . I am . . . Govegein of Bromjunaar," he said, stepping forward. Govegein decided that he would carry out his sentence in memory of the men that were once his friends. He would be the outcast until he recovered his mask.

"Never heard of the place, but I'm sure we will send your remains back there."

Again, how long have I been gone? Bromjunaar was one of the largest cities before my . . . punishment. Govegein pondered as the thief stepped up.

"Raddin of . . . nowhere really," Raddin joined Govegein at the chopping block. He looked about as depressed as Govegein felt.

"Well at least we have something in common," Govegein muttered, "Nowhere to go back to." I'm still talking like I am going to survive this. Surrounded by foes with no way out, no magic, and bound for the headman's ax. At least they made the odds even this time. Some preacher began a sermon of death before getting cut off by a Stormcloak eager to die.

After the first Stormcloak was decapitated, Govegein was called to the block. His crippled magic began to flow again. He planned to break free of his bonds, kill the executioner and take his ax. The archers would be next and the rebels would probably find a way to free themselves letting Govegein escape in the ensuing chaos. As he stepped forward a roar sounded in the distance and he froze. NO. He stopped the flow just before his roped burned.

The soldiers and civilians were startled by this alien sound, but the captain shouted above them, "I said, next prisoner!"

Govegein was pushed forward and as he was lowered to the block he heard the roar again. Please anyone but him! A great black dragon flew towards the town from the mountains. It landed atop the keep and called down its signature meteor shower. "Alduin," Govegein breathed as chaos broke loose.

* * *

**Yeah two chapters in one day. I should be able to keep this pace for the duration of this story.**

**Continuing from the prologue, criticism is highly underrated. If you like something say so (and what it is) if you hate something do the same thing but louder.**


	3. The Fall of Helgen

Chapter 2- The Fall of Helgen

Chunks of flaming stone fell out of the sky as Alduin roared, knocking everyone back. "This way!" Govegein heard Ralof shout. He ran towards a guard tower. Everything seemed to be on fire, someone was burning alive next to Govegein. Probably the headsman, ended up saving the man he was about to kill.

_Of course it would be him, if I got pushed forward in time, he would have too. But did I get here first?_ This seems to be Alduin's first attack. Govegein wondered at this as he met with Raddin and Ralof in the tower. Inside waited Ulfric and several Stormcloaks, two of which seemed gravely injured. Very few would make it out of this ordeal in one piece.

"Jarl Ulfric, what is that thing? Could the legends be true?" Ralof asked as he cut the Jarl's bindings. The roars and screams of terror seemed to get louder as the bombardment ceased. The fires could be felt through the stone tower, whether Alduin cared about cooking out a few stragglers or not, Govegein could not say for sure.

"Legends don't burn down villages!" Raddin shouted. Ulfric glared at Raddin as he was cut off. The heat in the tower grew.

"We need to move, now!" Ulfric said. He was right, even if the world eater did not mean to, this tower was roasting and they were all dead if they did not leave it.

"Up through the tower," Ralof suggested, "Let's go!" As they made their way up the stairs, the wall broke down to reveal Alduin's head. He shot a gout of fire and burned a Stormcloak alive. As Alduin left, Govegein and Raddin used the hole to escape the tower, jumping through a burning home. There they met with the list-bearing Imperial.

"Hamming, you need to get over here, now," the Imperial said, coaxing the boy away from his downed father. As the boy neared him, Alduin landed beside his father. "Atta boy, you're doing great," the Imperial said, trying to keep the boy's attention away from the dragon. "Torolf!" he shouted as Alduin roasted the man. The soldier led the few civilians in his care to some small cover. "You two still alive? Good," he said as he noticed the prisoners, "Stick with me if you want to stay that way." He was visibly shaken by what he had just seen, but he would not let that interfere with saving lives.

"I'm not liking our odds." Raddin remarked as they ran throughout the burning city. Govegein had to agree with him, a makeshift army or two he could handle, but the world eater? Not even his best trained warriors could have hoped to face off with the beast, let alone unarmed and alone.

Govegein swallowed. "True, but now is not the time for talk," Govegein retorted he could not keep the emotion out of his voice, "Now is the time to run."

"Oh no, is that fear? You were stone faced during the ambush and you're scared now? We aren't going to survive are we?" Raddin was panicking now. Govegein grabbed him and pulled him towards the wall, just before the black dragon landed and burned another civilian.

"Not with that attitude we're not," the soldier said as he caught up. "Make your way to the keep, I'll meet you there." The prisoners ran off. "I'm sure they didn't really need to be executed anyway."

Bursting through another burned house, the prisoners found the Imperial army preparing an onslaught for the dragon. Were they insane? Did they not know what they were trying to fight? Their troops were undertrained for a war with humans and they expected to fell a dragon. Govegein pulled Raddin through the troops as he heard the general order a retreat. As Govegein and Raddin neared the keep they were blocked by Ralof and the Imperial soldier from before. "Ralof, out of my way."

"No, I'm not letting some backstabbing Imperial swine live this encounter!" Ralof's face filled with a rage Govegein knew too well. He held the same expression just what seemed like a few hours ago.

"Okay, I'm sensing a back-story here, let's continue it when we aren't getting killed by the MOST POWERFUL DRAGON IN HISTORY!" Govegein shouted at them. He and Raddin grabbed the rival soldiers and dragged them into the barracks.

* * *

Once inside, the two calmed down. "This isn't over, but our mystery man is right, Hadvar," Ralof said, sheathing his sword. "Okay, now let's see if we can get those bindings off," Ralof said as he cut the ropes binding Raddin's hands.

The soldier, Hadvar, approached Govegein. "No need for me," Govegein said as his ropes burned away, cringing at the new burn of magika. "Next time use shackles, not ropes."

"You could have done that at any time?" Raddin asked dumbfounded.

"Yes, but I never got much of a chance," Govegein replied, "Alduin appeared just before I could kill the headsman." He flexed his now free hands, trying to feel how his magika should flow.

"Anyway, grab some weapons and armor, you will definitely need it." Hadvar interrupted. "Even if you could kill the headsman, you would be shot down by archers."

"When I was young, we didn't have toys," Govegein began. Causing Ralof to listen in on the conversation. "What we did have was bows, and of course arrows, we would shoot them at each other and try to catch them, imitating what the soldiers did with spears. I believe someone fast enough to catch an arrow is fat enough to dodge a few."

"Then the foot soldiers would have gotten you," Hadvar countered. Govegein found some captain's armor and began putting it on.

"No, by then the Stormcloaks would have freed themselves and intervened."

"It's true," Ralof said before Hadvar could talk. "Your soldiers did not get any of our hidden knives. You barely even searched us to tell the truth."

Govegein finished donning the Imperial armor and tested a sword-axe combo. "I'll need to get the hang of these back," he muttered, spinning the deadly blades.

Raddin had looted a combination of Imperial and Stormcloak armor. "What? I don't want to be mistaken by some crazy soldier as someone from the other side." He said before strapping a battle axe to his back and a sword to his hip.

"He's right whoever may be in the keep may be frantic from what's happening outside," Govegein supplied, tossing Raddin a shield after sheathing his own weapons. "Seeing something like that for the first time can be unsettling." _Especially for the first time on this side._

"We'll see, imperial soldiers aren't as . . . unstable as Stormcloaks," Hadvar said. He smirked as Ralof grew red in the face.

Ralof shouted back, "Well at least the Stormcloaks are not as weak as the Imperials, stuffed up on their posh habits."

"Save the infighting for when we are safe from the dragon" Govegein scolded them. _I'll have to rely on blades until I can figure out what happened to the magika_. And we 'High Priests' were so proud of our magical abilities. The four began the decent into the keep.

As it turns out, Govegein was right, whatever soldiers that were inside the keep were panicking because of their brush from death itself. _Standing in Alduin's presence will do that to you,_ Govegein thought. "Actually, I'm surprised that you three are taking this so well, you should be more like this," he said as he sidestepped and decapitated a babbling soldier.

"What just because something out of Talos's worst nightmares is tearing up Helgen? I'd like to think we Nords are heartier than that!" Ralof replied. They had entered a sort of storage room after passing through the keep.

"So, you're saying that the Nords are braver then the Hero-God of mankind, who was also a Nord by the way," Hadvar countered. The joke went over Govegein's head and Raddin was preoccupied with searching for excess potions.

"Sh-shut up." Ralof stammered. Raddin pulled his head out of a barrel with an armful of potions and they left the storage room. As the four rounded a corner, descending deeper into the keep, they came upon a torture chamber.

"Gods, I wish we didn't need this place," Hadvar replied, instantly becoming more solemn. Cages lined the far wall, some still with occupants. Govegein thought back to the torture chambers he had seen, compared to those this was like a bath house.

"Well, you don't really," Ralof said looking at the cages. Then a shot of lighting crossed their path.

"No more fools running around here trying to run me through spouting nonsense about winged death. I already lost my assistant," a thin man in Imperial armor and a hood calmly said as he stepped out of his corner. Govegein noticed the other bodies as the man stepped over them. "Then again you don't seem to have been reduced to babbling idiots."

"We aren't, but we are being attacked by a dragon, so let us through," Raddin supplied trying to pass the torturer. A hallway lead out of the main chamber, probably to more cells and cages.

"There's nothing down that way," the torturer replied.

"But there is something in this cage," Govegein said pulling some lock picks out of a discarded backpack. He quickly picked the lock and took the gear off of the dead mage inside. He deposited the clothes, gold, and book in the backpack and slung it across his back before donning the hood. "Learned to pick from a friend, besides there is a draft coming in from down the hall, something leading outside must have been knocked open."

The four continued on to find a larger cavern, populated with corpses from both armies. They must have met each other here and fought to the last death. Beyond the cavern was a drawbridge that Hadvar lowered and the others crossed. The next room was indeed extra storage for the torturer's cages and skeletons. The far wall had a hole in it, leading to a cave. "See, just like I said."

As Hadvar stepped into the cave, Alduin roared, shaking the ground itself, and boulders fell on the bridge, crushing it. "Well, I guess there's no going back," he said. Raddin ventured deeper into the cave and quickly sprinted back out.

"Sp-sp-sp-sp-sp-sp-sp-sp-sp-," Raddin began stuttering, he was as pale as a Snow Elf. Govegein swiftly punched Raddin in the face, "OOWWW, why would you do that?" he said holding his nose.

"Isn't that how you stop a babbling idiot?" Govegein said peering into the next room. "You're afraid of spiders too? What happened to being hardier that your god?" Govegein shouted from the other cavern. He got to work on the spiders, finding a rhythm in the carnage.

"Everyone has their weaknesses, and those are giant, hairy horrors from the depths of Oblivion THAT NEED TO BE IMMOLATED!" Raddin said quickly. Ralof sighed and dragged him through the web infested scene of carnage that had taken place while they had waited for Raddin to find his courage.

"You really can be a child sometimes, you know that?"

"We just met, and you're lucky I'm even passing through that room."

After dispatching the spiders, and Govegein tearing apart a bear in the next room, they found the exit they had been searching for. "I still can't believe you did that to that bear… it was asleep, we-we could have just snuck by," Raddin commented, recalling the gruesome scene.

"Anyway, you should warn nearby villages, I will find the Stormcloaks and warn them, Hadvar, you . . . do the same for the Imperials," Ralof said. Hadvar sighed, he didn't have any better plans so he was forced to comply with Ralof.

As the two soldiers walked towards their separate destinations, Raddin turned to Govegein. "So, what now?" Alduin roared as he flew over them, not taking any notice of the mortals beneath him.

"What do you mean?" Govegein asked, looking at Raddin like he was a fool.

"Do we go our separate ways, or do we attempt to warn the closest Jarl? Seeing as those two obviously aren't." Raddin replied. The man obviously was not cut out for living alone in the wilderness and Govegein found himself questioning just how this man came into this situation.

Anyway, Raddin's situation and future had little impact on Govegein's, he could do as he pleased. Govegein began to walk down the hillside, "You're a free man now follow your own path. As for me, I'm going to the nearest city to try to learn what I can."

At the sound of wolves in the distance, Raddin quickly caught up to Govegein. As Raddin began to follow him, Govegein thought to himself, _Well, I do need a guide. Not to mention, I need to figure out whatever happened to the magika of the world if I'm ever to return to normal._ Unsuccessfully attempting to push the thought of Alduin the Doombringer from his head.

* * *

**Aaaaaand, we're back. I just found out my time may be a little more limited than previously expected, along with my internet access, so I'm going to try to get these done.**

**As always feel free to leave your thoughts somewhere, preferably online where future employers can see them and judge them.**


	4. The Giant Slayers

Chapter 3- The Giant Slayers

"So you seriously know nothing about where you are?" Raddin asked Govegein as they left Riverwood, after a night slept in the Sleeping Giant Inn, following the river, for which the town is named, towards the city of Whiterun. Raddin had considerably calmed down from the series of events that had occurred the day before.

The two had discarded the stolen soldier's uniforms only to replace them with less conspicuous armor taken from bandits. Raddin had taken an iron helmet, gauntlets, and boots from the bandits as well as a set studded armor. "Let's just say I have not been paying attention to recent events." _He'd probably think that I was even more insane if I told him I came from the past._ He had taken a full set of iron armor, keeping the mage's hood he had swiped from Helgen. His new steel sword was strapped above the war axe he kept from the ordeal, while Raddin kept the battle axe and sword, also finding a banded shield amongst the bandits.

"Well I guess that explains why you didn't know about the war, but what about this place you say you came from, Bro- no, Bar- no, whatever you called it? I asked around the inn about it, and no one knew anything about it."

"Save your questions for later, we have more important things to do, Whiterun may already be ashes. I told you we didn't need to sleep." Govegein said, brushing away Raddin's questions. The night before, Raddin had complained to Govegein about sleep then night fell as they reached Riverwood. As they rounded a bend in the road Whiterun came into view on the horizon, not on fire.

"Told you that we could take our time with it." Raddin said running ahead and looking around, "See, no horrifying, flying, black lizard in sight." Raddin stopped dead in his tracks causing Govegein to walk into him. "A giant," Raddin mumbled racing forward.

"Oh for the love of Mara, where are you going?" Govegein shouted, running after Raddin. Then he saw them, a small group of people approaching a large, club wielding giant standing in a nearby farm. The biggest of them, clad in steel armor, rushed the giant, screaming a war cry. As the giant reached down to grab him, arrows were shot into its hand by a red haired huntress in familiar looking armor. The steel armored man was followed by two women in hide armor cutting at the giants legs.

Raddin, uncharacteristically jumped into the fray, embedding his axe in the giants back, breaking the handle, and drawing his sword and shield to continue the onslaught. In a short amount of time, the giant fell. The huntress walked up to Raddin and congratulated him as he retrieved his broken battle axe. She seemed to be offering him something but he shook his head; that was when she noticed Govegein.

Rage began to cloud her face, pleasing features warped and began to look almost wolfish. The woman walked towards Govegein. Where have I seen that armor before? Govegein thought watching her movements.

"And where were you while your friend fought for his life?" the huntress said as she reached Govegein.

"One, he was fighting for your lives. Two, you had it covered. And Three, why is your armor so familiar?" he listed in response. Govegein then proceeded to grab at the cloth covering her chest.

The woman jumped back and punched Govegein in the face. "What are you doing?" she shouted at him. The large man in steel armor backed away, holding back a furious woman in a hide helmet and shielding the other woman.

"I swear that I've seen this before," Govegein said wiping blood from his mouth. He held up a gauntlet and began to inspect it. It was old, from his time even, and well made. It could use a little maintenance, but was still in amazing shape for something that was at least a few centuries old.

The woman looked at her now bare hand and exclaimed, "How did you do that?" The more she got angry, her nails seemed to extend and sharpen. She lunged for the gauntlet, but Govegein held her back.

Peeling back the old fabrics, while holding the woman away, Govegein's eyebrows rose. "Oh," he simply said tossing the gauntlet back at the woman and walking away. _I made it. Early work, that explains much._

She looked at the now revealed insignia in the inside of her gauntlet, a strange face with tusks. "What do you know about this?" she asked, "This armor has been passed down from mother to daughter in my family for generations."

_Oh, it may be that one_. "Then it should be in a museum," Govegein replied as he lead Raddin away. Then to Raddin he said, "What was that about?"

Raddin looked at him dumbfounded, "Nord women don't like it when you try to take their armor, and women in general don't like people they just met . . . undressing them! Why did you do that anyway?"

It was just a casual armor inspection, it was routine in Govegein's time. "I had to check something, and not that. Why did you run into battle instead of away from it?" Govegein inquired.

"When people are in trouble I … I don't know, I just . . . have to help." Raddin said, "It's not like I wasn't afraid, I was terrified, but before I knew it my axe was in its back." Raddin had been like this for a long time, it often got him into trouble and was the reason of his time alone in the wilds of Skyrim.

Govegein looked behind them. One of the women was still trying to calm down the other two, and the large man was off to the side. All four of them were walking in the same direction as the duo, towards Whiterun. Seeing Govegein watching them, the huntress's face grew red and, seeing this, the large man began to run towards them. Govegein faced forward, "We might be in trouble."

The large man caught up with them and picked them up by the backs of their armors and pulled the two to the side as the three women passed, pushed along by the calmer one. "Hello, I'm Farkas, and why would you do that to Aela. One of the very few rules of the Companions is never, and I repeat, NEVER get Aela angry." The mountain of muscle said. "She is liable to hunt you down and drag you into her own personal plane of Oblivion, and it makes Coldharbor look like a paradise."

As Farkas was going over his theories on what he thought Aela could to the Govegein, a rather stringy looking Orc approached them. "By the Nine! Are you Farkas?" the excited little Orismer said looking up at him. "I am a huge fan of the Companions and their adventures. Is there any chance that I could join?"

"Uh . . . you would have to talk to Kodlak about that, but I don't think that you are quite Companions material," Farkas said examining the Orc's thin arms.

"I know that I'm not that impressive, but I can train and get better," the Orc said looking at Farkas's unexpectant expression. "I bet these whelps can help me train," gesturing to the iron clad duo.

"Who are you calling a whelp, skeever bait?" Govegein said approaching the Orc. Even next to an average person, this Orc would look small, not to mention the average Orc. His hair was shaved along the sides, leaving a strip at the top that was tied at the back of his head. The little Orc's tusks seemed almost too large for his mouth and seemed to impede his speech a little. Small horns peaked out of seemed to line his brow, but they barely broke the surface.

Black eyes widened in fear, but the Orc did not back away. "No, no, no, that's just what they call the new guys in the companions, right Farkas?" he said looking at the empty space where Farkas was. "If I take back the whelp comment, will you train me?"

Pulling Govegein to the side, Raddin whispered, "It can't be a good idea to bring the guy, I mean just look at him. How well will he stand against a bandit, let alone a dragon?" They looked over to the Orc, fighting against a breeze.

"You look at him he has more courage in the face of danger that you. How long do you think he traveled to get here only to have his dreams shot down by that huge guy? What do you think he encountered on his way here? And if we're talking about dragons, you're still here aren't you? Plus, I've trained worse." Govegein said thinking back to his days in Bromjunaar with Raghot before turning back to the Orc, "So what's your name?"

"I'm Ugdulub gro-Galrag, and even though I might be weak now, I will become the strongest Companion." Ugdulub said. He stood proudly, now that the wind was gone. Govegein rubbed his eyes, this might be a bit more difficult than he thought.

"Well Ugdulub, we should probably buy you some armor," Raddin sighed walking towards Whiterun.

"I can make some," both Govegein and Ugdulub said. Both Govegein and Raddin looked at the little Orc surprised. _Orcs are handy around a forge, if I recall._

"I can at least help," Ugdulub amended. And the three walked towards the gates of Whiterun.

* * *

**And now we bring back Ubaloo, uh Ugjug? How ever you pronounce that Orcish name.**

**You guys should be getting how this goes now.**


	5. Warning Balgruuf

Chapter 4- Warning Balgruuf

As the newly formed trio approached Whiterun, they were stopped by a guard, who wanted to know their business entering the city. Up close, the walls of Whiterun seemed much larger, comparable even to Bromjunaar's famous fortifications. They were, of course, patrolled regularly and heavily, locking out a small band of Khajit. Goveein had only ever seen one other, but they were unmistakable regardless. Looking up at the towering walls and gate, Govegein pushed Raddin forward. _Let him be the hero, I'm just here to learn when I am_, Govegein thought.

"Um, w-we have information for the Jarl. Riverwood may be in danger," the Nord said before backing away from the weary guard. Obviously not happy about going against his orders the guard reluctantly allowed them to enter the city. "I guess he has enough sense to listen to warnings," Raddin said more confidently.

"Or it could be that you two look like you just left a war zone," Ugdulub supplied. He was right, of course. They were covered in soot and blood, showing through the armor. Raddin even had a hastily bandaged gash on his arm, nothing serious, but a bandit caught him by surprise.

"Aww, we took the bandit armor so we didn't have to look like that," Raddin whined, instantly losing his bravado.

"Well we are still covered in a mix of other people's blood and ours, we should probably wash our wounds," Govegein said, "Well, more your wounds." It was something beyond that, though. Govegein figured it was a look in the eyes, but Alduin seemed to have a way of marking the people who had survived an encounter with him. Nothing exactly detectable, but people could somehow sense when others brushed with that winged death.

"Har, har. I'm going to see the Jarl about the dragon attacks." Raddin said walking away. Like it or not, people would notice this about the both of them, something that set them apart from the crowd. Some would fear them, others would watch them in awe, yet none of them would know why until they see the world eater itself.

Govegein stood with Ugdulub beyond the gate and looked at his surroundings for the first time. They were standing on a small bridge over an outflow stream from the local sewer. The city was built on one of the few large hills in the plain that made the Hold of Whiterun, with the Castle sitting on its top. Before the two was a smithy and armor and weapon shop. Across the street was another storefront, more specialized for hunters, possibly the inebriated ones from the shop's name. Further into the city was a market, while the residential center branched off to the right.

Out in front of the smithy stood a man in Imperial armor arguing with a woman standing before the forge. They seemed to be debating whether or not the woman could fill an order of weapons, she was against it. "Hey, Ugbulb, I'm going to go to the castle to speak with the wizard there, you take these and buy yourself a good weapon," Govegein said tossing a gold pouch to the small Orc and walking away.

"My name is Ugdulub, and how are you sure that I wouldn't run with this?" The little man would be right if he weren't talking about himself.

Govegein sighed and turned around. "In my few dealings with your people, I've learned that they are nothing if not honorable . . . and I would put you through some of the outlawed tortures I've come across if you stole my money," Govegein replied, a wicked grin creeping up his hooded face.

As he walked away he heard Ugdulub mutter, "That is a lot of gold." Following the main street through the market he ascended the stairs to find an old, burnt tree in a courtyard. Past a raving lunatic, he saw an overturned boat-turned-building from which he could hear the sounds of rowdy merrymaking and the starts of a fight. On the other side of the courtyard was a temple to one of the Divines. A priestess roamed outside it in healer's robes, so he guessed that it was Kynereth. As he pushed forward towards the castle, the guards had called it Dragon's Reach, the sounds of the city began to fade.

* * *

Entering the castle, he was not surprised by a terrified Raddin explaining his situation to an angry looking Dunmer holding an Elven make sword to his throat. Using this convenient distraction, he slipped into a side room with two strange tables pressed up against a wall, one looked to be used to mix ingredients, probably a station for alchemy, the other had a familiar magic symbol embedded in it, and that must be for enchanting items. Hunched over a long table in the middle of the room was a man in blue mage's robes.

Looking up he muttered "Oh gods, another fool attempting to learn magic." Approaching Govegein, he said "Hello I am the court wizard Farengar Secret-Fire, how can I help you?" He obviously did not like the company, and just wanted Govegein to leave as fast a possible.

Knowing that he would just be proving the insolent mage right, Govegein decided to ask the question that had been nagging at him ever since he left his own time. "Have there been any major events in the magika of the world lately?" he wondered at how well this question could even be answered as he leant over a nearby Enchanting table.

Farengar looked at Govegein as if Govegein had grown another head and had sung a ballad in harmony with himself. He replied with a flat out "No." Then why did his old magic not work? Why did it burn him to cast a spell?

"Really, nothing that could have drastically changed the flow of magika over a few centuries? Like if, theoretically, someone from the first era were to come to this era, would they be able to cast their old magic?" he questioned more thoroughly as he looked up from the unraveling of the mage's robes. By first era, he meant the era of creation making this, technically, a theoretical question, but of course Farengar had no way of knowing that.

"Well magic is, by its very nature, changing. It could be possible that over several centuries, its properties have shifted enough to be different from what a mage of the first era is familiar with." Farengar replied slowly changing his view of Govegein because of the theories this question could start. "Of course, events like Red Mountain's eruption and Dragon Breaks could even further disrupt this flow you speak of."

This made some sense to Govegein, although he knew little of how magic actually worked and was unaware of what a Dragon Break was. The new knowledge of the enchantment he thought he knew confirmed it. _Just great, I'm going to have to learn everything again it seems. At least the old weapon styles still work_.

He was about to continue the discussion when a voice interrupted. "Farengar, I've found someone who can help you with your dragon project." That was when a man in royal furs and a crown led in Raddin. "Go ahead and fill him in with all the details." This man must be the ruler of this place, a Jarl, Govegein guessed from what they called Ulfric.

"We will continue our discussion later, sir," Farengar said to Govegein. Then turning to Raddin he said, "So the Jarl thinks you can be of some use to me?" in that I-doubt-it way of his. As he began to explain what he needed "fetched", Raddin's face grew more confused about something than terrified about entering a burial mound.

"What does this stone have to do with dragons?" he asked when Farengar was finished.

Govegein recognized the kind of stone Farengar had described. "It's a detailed record of dragons that were killed in the war, their names, when and where they died, who killed them, and, probably most importantly, where they were buried." At the surprised looks from Raddin and Farengar, Govegein said, "What? The, uh, ancient lore of Skyrim always interested me." He hoped that they would buy that.

"Fantastic, who would have known we had the same hobby?" Farengar shouted. This seemed to be a first for him. "Are you interested in learning more about magic? I think you might have some potential, I'll even throw in a spell or two for a fellow historian." Farengar pulled out a Destruction tome, a Restoration tome, and an alteration tome.

_Some magical potential?_ Govegein thought to himself, but he said "Yes thank you, you are being too generous." As he looked through the first destruction tome, it burst into flames. Govegein shouted as he jumped back, "I knew something was rotten!" Spells were supposed to take years of research and practice to master.

"No! That's how spell books work, look at your hands," Farengar said drawing back.

Govegein felt the new magika flow for the first time, it felt closer to what he had known, looking down at his hands, he saw that they were alight again, like when he burnt away the ropes binging him. This time though, the fire was stronger and it felt like it could reach out. "Amazing," he said dispelling the fire. The Alteration book decayed, leaving him feeling stronger than he had in, technically, centuries. The Restoration book burst into light and left Govegein feeling rejuvenated. Remembering the tome from the torture chamber, he took it out and opened it, it faded away as lightning flowed into his hands. Thanking Farengar for his generosity, the two warriors, one with some new tricks, left the palace.

* * *

Govegein found Ugdulub attempting to lift a large sack of armor and weapons just outside of the armorer's shop. "Do you need help, or should we just leave you here?" Govegein said. Govegein wondered at how the Orc had gotten so much with the one pouch of gold.

"Be nice." Raddin said jabbing him in the side. It was a plausible reaction to seeing someone with a sack of possibly stolen goods.

"Oh, hey guys, I only had enough for this much," Ugdulub greeted them opening the bag. From there they could see the glint of steel as armor and weapons exposed themselves in the bag.

"Only?" Govegein said looking into the bag.

* * *

**Okay, so no uploads tomorrow or over the weekend, because reasons, we'll be back monday and go through the week, the week after that my schedule gets sketchy.**

**So, to those still reading, feel free to tell me I'm doing an awesome job, or a terrible one . . . I'm not even sure which this is.**


	6. The Bandits of Bleak Falls

Chapter 5- The Bandits of Bleak Falls

As they walked up the mountain side in their new armor, Raddin looked at Govegein. He strode forward in newly forged steel armor and a black hood, the set had some minor enchantments on them. Looking down, Raddin saw the gleam of the new steel war axe strapped to Govegein's hip next to the sword. "Are you sure we should just leave him there?"

"Are you sure you should have given him your armor? Besides he is not ready for real combat yet," Govegein replied. "It's better that he builds up some muscle at the lumber mill at least." Looking down at the little town of Riverwood, Govegein could see Ugdulub struggling with the logs in his new steel armor, a war-hammer was leaned against a nearby pillar. If Ugdulub had entered battle in this state, he would only be dead weight. Hopefully this work will get him the strength and endurance necessary to stay alive.

Then Govegein looked at Raddin in his old gear, the only thing he took was a new battle axe. Back in Whiterun he had said, "I think that most of the more expensive armors don't really suit me. I just can't move as freely, you know?" Govegein figured that he was just sad none of the helmets Ugdulub purchased had horns.

As they climbed the trail, they approached an old Nordic tower. "Stop, bandits." Govegein said pointing forward. "How should we take them?" They crouched behind a rock to plan their next move. One leaned on a nearby tree while another sat at the fire. One more could be seen in the tower itself.

"Can we try talking this time?" Raddin attempted to plead with the strange Breton. Their last encounter started with Govegein disemboweling one of the bandits and raising an alarm. He slaughtered the rest of the clan almost single handedly.

Govegein chuckled. "No, if you try that they will fill you with arrows and loot your corpse. These people are all the same." Getting up, he drew his weapons and rushed forward. The standing one would be the immediate threat, then the one in front of the fire.

A blue-green aura enveloped him as a few arrows flew past him. When he reached the standing bandit, he cut at the hide armor with his sword and sliced the bandit's neck with the axe. The next bandit struck Govegein in the back with a mace, but the aura reduced the blow's effectiveness. Raddin appeared behind the newcomer and cleaved though the bandit's armor with his battle axe. As the final bandit approached from the tower, Govegein shot a gout of flames at her. Raddin took this opportunity to bash her over the side of the mountain with his shield. Looking down, Raddin said, "She might live. Nords are a tough people."

"Let's move on," Govegein said moving towards the barrow. Ascending the stairs towards the entrance, arrows flew towards the duo. "Not even a minute of rest." One of the arrows pierced Raddin's left arm as they ran towards a half-baked ambush. Reaching the top first, Raddin dashed towards one of the two archers and killed him before he could draw his knife. As Govegein reached the top, he cut an arrow that was flying towards Raddin in half. Spinning he threw his axe at the other archer, splitting her skull.

"Now you're just trying to make me look bad." Raddin complained slicing the next bandit's arm. It really was not that difficult, Raddin was not used to confrontations like this, let alone working with a partner. Though, he was thankful for the assistance.

"Get better and I won't be able to anymore," Govegein replied decapitating another bandit and sending a stream of lightning towards another. He collapsed convulsing, stirring old memories for both warriors.

As Raddin finished off the paralyzed bandit, he looked around, ready for another attacker, but there wasn't any in sight. As Govegein opened the large doors to the barrow, Raddin shouted after him "See? You're doing it again."

As the duo entered the barrow, the stench of rotting skeever assailed their noses. "Damned vermin, I think they actually got worse over the centuries," Govegein muttered stepping over the large rat-like creatures. They hadn't been quite as big as this, but they were just as copious in the temples he had trained in. He motioned for Raddin to crouch as he went deeper into the room.

They approached a large pillar in the middle of the room. It was surrounded by rubble and on the far side was a group of bandits. When Raddin caught up with him, Govegein picked up a pebble and hurled it at a far wall. The loud knock caught the bandit's attention. "What was that?" a rather burly looking bandit said looking towards the door. As the bandit and his two friends approached the door, Raddin spun out from behind the pillar, cutting through one of the smaller bandit's heads with his sword.

As the large bandit turned towards Raddin, an axe embedded itself in his back. "Oh no you don't. You're my prey, muscles," Govegein taunted, heating his sword in a small flame. "I just had to try out this new idea." The large man was enraged, and barely encumbered by the axe in his back. Govegein looked over at him with his burning blade.

While Govegein swiped at the large bandit with a blade of red-hot steel, Raddin was having some trouble with an archer. Hiding behind his shield, he slowly attempted to approach the bow wielding bandit. As arrows bounced off of his shield, Raddin readied his own sword. Just as he reached the archer, the large bandit fell on her, crushing her. Raddin looked, horrified, at the burning cuts left in the large bandit. "Couldn't you have just done that with an enchantment?"

"Yeah, but we didn't really have the time or resources to enchant the weapons." Govegein replied simply. He ran out of soul gems that he could afford from Farengar, and had no new enchantments for weapons yet. Govegein was not sure how his older enchantments would affect the items.

Raddin shuddered, "I don't see how you can sully good craftsmanship with magic anyway." The thought of enchanting creeped him out. He did not know much about magic in general, but he was sure that it did not like being bound to inanimate objects, least of all metal ones.

Govegein looked at him, "Do you have a problem with making a good piece of equipment even better? Just because it is magic, does not make it evil." He had to deal with people like this often, they feared something because they did not understand it.

"Well I think it does when it runs on another creature's soul. How can anyone do that?" Raddin said as they delved deeper into the barrow. Maybe he did understand it, just a little.

"They make good power sources, and conduits of power, and various other things," Govegein said as they approached the end of a winding hallway. "Anyway let's leave the 'ethics of magic' debate for later. Watch this bandit," he finished. He was crouching watching the strong looking bandit approach a lever. The bandit appeared to be muttering something, Govegein could not make it out, but the bandit seemed very agitated nevertheless. As the bandit pulled the lever, a series of almost inaudible clicks sounded around the room. This was followed by a few dozen darts hitting the bandit. He crumbled where he stood.

"What in Oblivion?" Raddin questioned, looking to Govegein for answers.

"Poison, one of the more common traps in these burial grounds," Govegein explained walking into the room. "It is connected to the lever, which seems to open the gate in front of us." The traps are usually fairly simple, and the old Nords and Atmorans liked them more than actual locks.

As Raddin entered, he approached three strange, small obelisks. "What are these?" They had depictions of some of the old sacred animals, the whale, the serpent, and the eagle, on their sides. The obelisks were built to swivel and turn. On the wall above the gate leading further into the burial grounds were two faces, inside their mouths were similar depictions. A third face lay on the ground, it seemed to have fallen from its place on the wall.

"Those, my friend, are the keys to opening the door. We just need to input the correct code, which is on the wall above the gate. Really who leaves the key hanging on the door?" Govegein said, complaining about the stupidity of the ancient Nords.

The two quickly unlocked the gate, dispatched some skeevers, and descended the wooden staircase. Looking into the web covered room, Raddin's legs became weak. "I have a really bad feeling about this." Obviously, there was a spider den beyond.

"Ooh! Look a scroll," Govegein said, ignoring Raddin's protests. "It appears to be a Fireball Scroll, this could be useful later," he said tucking the scroll into a hidden pocket. Turning back to Raddin, seeing him frozen in the doorway, he said, "Come on, it's just some webs". Grabbing Raddin's arm they proceeded to find the path before them blocked by a cave in. A side passage, on the other hand, was only blocked by a wall of webbing. After cutting through the webbing, Govegein threw Raddin into the room. "Face your fears for once," he said simply following.

"Hey, you two," a voice said from the other side of the room. "I might need a little help, you know?" The man, who appeared to be another bandit, was wrapped in webbing, and hanging from the wall.

"It will be okay, I've got you," Raddin said approaching, with Govegein a few steps behind. As the Nord approached the bandit, Govegein heard rustling coming from the ceiling.

"Watch out!" he shouted, pushing Raddin out of the way as a gigantic spider dropped down where they had been standing. Govegein quickly retrieved the battle axe from Raddin's back. Turning once, he launched it, cutting off two of the spider's legs and lodging it in the spider's abdomen.

Raddin got up, half fainting from fear, and drew his sword. Entering a state of mind between consciousness and instinct, Govegein noted, nice survival plan. Raddin proceeded to sever two more legs before getting hit by the venomous spit of the spider. Well he's out of commission, but I think that I might have another idea. Govegein reached into his pocket and pulled out the scroll.

"I hope this works, because it would be awesome to see," Govegein said as the scroll incinerated in his hand. The new spell felt familiar to Govegein as the spider faced him. Pointing his enflamed hand at the spider he waited. The spider looked at the Breton as it collected venom in its mouth for another shot. As its jaws opened, Govegein released the raging spell. The flames engulfed the venomous saliva, entering the spider's gaping mouth. As the bolt of flames hit the spider's stomach, it exploded into a ball of burning gasses. The flames could be seen as the burned through the flesh, escaping the spider's exoskeleton.

"That was impressive, now get me down!" shouted the bandit. He struggled in the webbing, unable to break free.

"Oh yeah, I forgot about you," Govegein said, rousing Raddin from his venom induced slumber.

"Rend the flesh!" Raddin shouted, snapping up. "Oh I had the strangest nightmare. I was killing some hands-"

"No one cares Raddin," Govegein said, approaching the bound bandit. "So what do we get for saving you?" The bandit came this deep into the barrow for a reason, and could probably help them get the Dragonstone.

"Um, I'll let you have some of the treasure that lies at the end of this barrow. I have the claw, which is needed to get there," the bandit bargained.

"So why should we believe you?" Govegein countered, "You're obviously aligned with all of the bandits we killed." In all likelihood, the bandit would flee the moment he is free.

"My gang and I had a falling out, hence the locked gate, and the web I'm stuck on is covering the door proceeding into the barrow," the bandit said smugly.

"You drive a hard bargain," Govegein said flatly cutting the bandit down.

"Ha! You'll never get the treasure!" the bandit said running deeper into the barrow.

"Should we run after him?" Raddin said, eager to leave the spider nest.

"No, let's walk." Govegein said following the bandit to the next room. They found the bandit skewered by a corpse's sword. The corpse stood behind the bandit, then it turned to look over its shoulder at the two newcomers with glowing blue eyes.

* * *

**And Back into Bleakfalls! Insert a badly drawn picture of a draugr being eaten by a spider here Too far, you passed it**

**See you guys in a few days, leave some comments.**


	7. The Treasure of Bleak Falls Barrow

Chapter 6- The Treasure of Bleak Falls Barrow

The rotting body drew its ancient blade from the bandit's back. Turning towards Raddin and Govegein, it shot forward, knocking Govegein over. As it turned towards Raddin it rose its black sword and let out an incoherent garble before rushing him. Raddin knocked its blade aside with his shield and cut the walking corpse deeply across the chest. The thing didn't even show any awareness that it had been cleaved. Raising its sword above its head to cut at Raddin from the top, a voice said, "Kriist tum, kendov." The corpse froze mid swing, then sheathed its sword and turned towards Govegein, hands at its side, looking forward. Govegein rose from the floor. Retrieving a golden sculpture from the bandit's corpse, he said simply, "That should calm the Draugr down."

"What? How? I thought I was done for. How did you do that?" Raddin spurted out. He examined the corpse. "And what is a Draugr?" Poking various places to see if the corpse reacted to touch, he recoiled at the rotting fluids that oozed out. The glowing eyes did not waver, trained on the hooded man who had ordered it to stand down.

"Draugr are walking corpses that have been treated in a Nordic burial ritual," Govegein explained. "This one is from the Dragon Cult, in fact most are; some scholars believe that they are cursed with undeath because they worship the dragons. Seeing as it worshipped dragons, in life, as a soldier, it was trained to obey orders in the dragon language, which is how I stopped it." As he passed the Draugr, it ran ahead gesturing Govegein to follow. "It appears that he wants to be our guide."

It walked slowly ahead of them, examining the state of its home. It seemed to be talking to itself, whispering in the long dead language. "Great," Raddin exhaled. After following the Draugr through some burial rooms and past some traps, he asked, "So you really are obsessed with Nordic history? I mean you even know a dead language, the only ones who can speak the dragon language these days are people like that Ulfric guy."

"Well I wouldn't say obsessed, I just know a lot about that time period," Govegein quickly covered. As they passed some Draugr rose from their slumbers. They seemed to be whispering amongst themselves and soon a parade began to follow Govegein and Raddin as they descended deeper into the catacomb, led by the Draugr with a gash in his chest.

The Draugr approached a doorway blocked by roots and rubble. He turned towards Govegein and said, "Krif ru'un." In the room beyond, amongst the rubble and debris stood a large, formidable looking Draugr with a great sword strapped to its back. Cobwebs covered the corpse and its eyes did not glow as it stood, like a sentry.

Raddin, looking confused and disgusted, the parade of Draugr had drifted uncomfortably close to him, said, "Explain please." The sentry stirred, its eyes burning into life, shaking off centuries of dust and cobwebs.

"Do you remember the training I mentioned the Draugr went through in life? Well it only allows three places that it can receive orders from, any Dragon, some dragon priests or generals, and a squad leader. This appears to be the squad leader for this group, and I have to fight him." Govegein said approaching the lone Draugr. "Plus, he is blocking our way forward."

The large Draugr faced Govegein, its eyes flaring. The two drew their weapons. The Draugr said, "Latiid ziinkrif. Nid lu." Govegein nodded, accepting the ruling, and the two struck, Govegein holding back the great sword with both his weapons. This would be a duel of blades, no magic. Govegein took a side step and diverted the blade.

The Draugr watching softly chanted "Krif, Krif, Krif." The Draugr seemed to like the entertainment, understandable after who knows how long spent alone in their burial crevices.

As the battle progressed, the Draugr's movements became more fluid, more similar to Govegein's own technique. _Well of course, we were trained in the same style. Although this is only one of several styles I picked up over the years_. All of a sudden, Govegein's movements changed, his sword and axe stopped moving as one. Taking a stance where only his side faced his opponent, Govegein lunged with his sword, clipping the Draugr's lead arm. As the Draugr swung to retaliate, Govegein stepped forward with his other foot and rose his axe, catching the great sword for a moment, just long enough to cut the Draugr's fingers with his sword.

The chanting rose.

The great sword clattered to the ground, the Draugr looked up, not yet defeated and spoke, "Nid fahdon wah hiif hi daar tiid." As the Draugr curled its hands into fists and took a defensive stance, Govegein stepped back in shock.

The onlookers were shouting now, leaving Raddin terrified.

"Dreh Zu'u mindok hi?" Govegein questioned. The Draugr gave no answer, but instead rushed towards Govegein. The decayed fists smashed into Govegein's face, stunning him. The opening allowed the Draugr to lean down and pick Govegein up for a finisher, but Govegein had recovered. He let the sword drop into the large Draugr's back, and decapitated the Draugr with his axe.

The chanting ceased.

The Draugr crumpled and Govegein picked himself up from under the corpse. He was visibly shaken. "LIF!" Govegein shouted. The on looking Draugr slowly returned to their respective resting places, to wait for the next time they could walk.

After the last walking corpse had left, Raddin approached Govegein. He was retrieving his sword from the Draugr's back. Raddin asked, "What was that about?"

Sheathing his weapons, Govegein said, "What?" He began to walk into the barrows inner catacombs before Raddin could clarify. "We got through the first part easily enough. Although we probably shouldn't order around anymore Draugr, they seem to gain more . . . self-awareness then." He was dodging the question.

Raddin was not about to let what he just saw go. "Is that what happened, because whatever it said shook you," Raddin pushed, catching up with Govegein.

"Never mind that, we are going to have to fight from now on. Those past Draugr only answered to the big one, the next ones wont. And before you ask how I know that, it's because the leader is buried before his subordinates, leaving him deeper in the barrow, seeing as there is more barrow to come, there must be another leader." A few minutes later, they were surrounded by the walking dead. "Hate to say 'I told you so,' but I did." Arming himself with fire and lightning, Govegein showered the corpses before him in Destruction magic. Behind him, Raddin cut and slashed at the decayed forms, dispatching them quickly enough. What was left was little more than lumps of charred and decayed flesh.

Enough of this. After defeating the Draugr in the room Raddin pushed aside Govegein, "You're hiding something. What is it?" Raddin held Govegein against the wall, using all of his strength. Govegein barley even fought back, but glared at the Nord.

Govegein pushed Raddin off easily. "You'll learn what you need to when you need to, asking for anything too soon is foolish. All you need to know right now is that I know far more than you and I am on your side," accepting this, Raddin begrudgingly walked away. "For now." Govegein added under his breath. He did not know how future events would play, but he had a feeling that Raddin would soon find himself in a place of power. Govegein knew that the day would come when they would stand opposed.

"You're lucky I trust you," Raddin said over his shoulder.

"Just move on, defeat one foe at a time," Govegein replied. Movement in the shadows. Glowing eyes.

"Are you calling yourself my foe?" Raddin said, turning. He didn't see them . . . yet.

"No," Govegein said. "I'm saying they are." In an instant they were surrounded again by several Draugr.

Sighing, Raddin heaved up his battle axe. "How many people were buried here?" he said beating one of the Draugr away with his axe.

"I don't know, a few hundred maybe? It varies from burial ground to burial ground." Govegein said as he whirled through the fight. Blades cleaved flesh as the duo fought the horde of walking corpses. By the end of the fight, the two were exhausted, weapons and armor marred with the remains of the now motionless corpses around them.

Raddin looked at Govegein in disbelief. "I thought that you were stronger than this," he said through breaths. Slowly leaving the battlefield, the warriors found themselves in a wide hallway with worn carvings covering the walls. Govegein was out of breath and had pulled down his hood to wipe away some sweat. He hadn't had this much of a work out since he fought a Dwemeri necromancer as a political favor. The guy had mastered techniques to keep his corpses moving until they were literally dust, rumor had it that he was working on a way to animate even that.

"Even the best will get tired after a while," Govegein said, breathing heavily. "And I may be a little out of practice." He had magic when fighting the necromancer. Walking down the hallway, the comrades were blocked by a circular door. The door was built around a circular centerpiece, with rings sprouting out from the center. The lower half was covered by a stone slab, and the rings had carvings of the sacred animals on them. "Of course there would be a Claw Locked door," Govegein said throwing up his arms.

"What's a Claw Locked door?" Raddin asked, immensely confused. The centerpiece had three depressions in it, almost like three keyholes.

"This," Govegein touched the door, "is a door that will only open to the correct combination of symbols and the metallic claw that it was built for. Time to see if this bauble will do the trick," Govegein explained, pulling out the Golden Claw he swiped from the bandit. Turning it over, he read the symbol sequence and spun the rings on the door. Pushing the Golden Claw into the centerpiece, he turned the lock.

The door shuddered and rose revealing a large cavern. On the far side of the cavern, a curved wall rose behind a sarcophagus. Next to the burial area, stairs rose to a separate tunnel and waterfalls framed the scene. Govegein walked into the cavern followed by an awed Raddin. "I'm going to investigate the sarcophagus, you look around and see if you can learn something," Govegein said to Raddin.

Govegein checked the sarcophagus, it was sealed. No sign of the Dragonstone in the nearby chest either, just some spare armor. Behind Govegein, Raddin seemed to be entranced by the wall. It had strange scratches all over it, but they had a pattern. Approaching it, he said "Do you . . . hear that?"

"What?" Govegein said turning around. Raddin was reaching for the wall a chant calling out inside his head. Suddenly an ethereal fire sprung out of one of the, what Govegein knew to be, words in the Dragon Language. The flames wrapped themselves around an unblinking Raddin, entering his head and vanishing. "Wha-" Suddenly the lid of the sarcophagus flew up and an armored Draugr rose from it. "By Akatosh, a Deathlord," Govegein said, backing up.

"What in Oblivion is a Deathlord?" Raddin questioned, freed from his entrancement. He shook his head, the fire leaving something inside his mind, Fus.

"A Deathlord is what the strongest warriors of the ancient Nords were called," Govegein explained. The Draugr rose an ancient war axe that was covered in frost. Water vapor flew by as the Deathlord swung at the intruders. _ This is going to be nothing like the other fights_, Govegein thought to himself. "Raddin, get behind him," as Raddin hesitated the Deathlord swung at him. "He can't defend on both sides, we can beat him if we work together."

Raddin flanked the Deathlord, who stood with shoulders to both of its attackers. Looking from one to the other, it waited for an attack, wreathing its unarmed hand in ice. Raddin attacked first, his sword cutting at the Deathlord's casting arm. The Deathlord quickly blocked Raddin's sword with its axe and blasting a gust of ice with the strength of a blizzard at Govegein.

Seeing this, Govegein countered with a gout of flames to negate the ice. Quickly moving in, he swung up with his own axe, only to have it caught by the Draugr's own axe, the frost enchantment turning Govegein's blade brittle. On the other side, Raddin fought against another gust of ice from behind his shield.

The Deathlord sidestepped and spun, its axe crashing into Raddin's shield, braking his defenses. Holding Govegein at bay with more ice, it took the opportunity to continue its onslaught on Raddin. As Raddin fell back, lightning crackled through the Deathlord's stream of ice, racing up its arm. Ending the spell, the Deathlord faced Govegein and cut him along his chest.

Govegein's steel armor grew cold as the axe began to widdle it down. Hastily, he brought his axe up to defend with, but it shattered on impact with the enchanted weapon. This did give Govegein enough time to cover his hands in a blaze and bury them in the Deathlord's sides, locking it's arm with his. As Raddin approached the powerful Draugr from behind he rose his battle axe above his head. Govegein let the flames erupt from inside the Deathlord's chest as Raddin brought down the axe.

The Deathlord slumped and Raddin pulled him off of Govegein. "Just give it a second, I have to replenish a little Magika." Golden light flowed from his wounds as Govegein got up. "It's just a patch job, but I'll survive. Now let us find that Dragonstone," Govegein said as he picked up the Deathlord's war axe and strapped it to his hip.

Raddin found the stone inside the sarcophagus, it had been buried with the Deathlord. Retrieving the stone, the duo climbed the stairs towards the barrow's back exit. "You have to teach me some of the moves you used against that big Draugr," Raddin said. "You were . . . amazing, and then your stance completely changed, you . . . lessened the power you could put into blows for extra range."

"And a smaller target area, old style I picked up from some Aldmer. Yes, yes, I know several styles of fighting with weapons. You tend to pick up a few when you do what I did," Govegein replied, "If we have time I'll give you some tips. Along with that Orismer lad."

This was a chance to learn a bit about the mysterious companion. "So what _did_ you do before this?" Raddin probed.

Govegein sighed, countless battles and betrayals scrolling through his head. "I killed without remorse," Govegein replied grimly as they left the cave.

* * *

**So here we are again, that space between the chapters, most of you probably don't even read this. Well here's to those that do *lifts mug of Blackbriar Mead***

**And that was the latest in my updates, one more to go today and two every day.**


	8. The White Dragon

Chapter 7- The White Dragon

Stepping into the light, Govegein found himself looking over a lake. Figuring where he was based on the landscape and the layout of the barrow, he began the trek east towards Riverwood. Raddin kept two or three steps behind Govegein as they approached the small village. Looking towards the lumber mill, they caught no sign of Ugdulub. As they walked through the town, Raddin said, "Shouldn't we be looking for Ugdulub?"

"I'm sure he'll be fine," Govegein said shortly before a familiar voice called out to them.

"Hey guys. The nice siblings from the shop offered me some food a little while back when I finished cutting the wood. They seem to have lost some golden ornamental claw thing," he rambled as he caught up with them, "I think that we should help them. You know since we're heroic adventurers and all?"

Govegein stopped mid step. "One: we are not heroic anything. We are strangers with similar goal for the time being. And B: here is the golden claw, go give it to the shop owner."

"That was nice of you." Raddin said as Ugdulub happily ran for the shop. After a few moments he said, "You do know how to make a proper list right? You can either go one, two, three, etc. or you can say A, B, C, etc."

"Shut up it amuses me." Govegein said as Ugdulub ran back towards them. "And the reward gold helps decision making." Holding out his hand he gestured towards the small orc. Reluctantly Ugdulub handed over the pouch of gold he was given.

Resuming their short journey the trio set off towards Whiterun. Ugdulub frantically begged Govegein and Raddin for a play by play recounting of their adventure. Raddin told him about how he valiantly faced off bandit hordes and legions of undead. Govegein commented with the truthful side of the story between Raddin's fables. He also became overly vivid in explaining the battles, from the stench of scorched flesh to the feeling of the insides of the Deathlord. He held nothing back in hopes of scaring the weedy Orismer boy, but with each re told battle the boy's face grew more and more in awe.

* * *

As the trio reached Whiterun, the sun had begun to set. As Govegein approached, he watched warily for the wolfish redhead he had angered the day before. Raddin was giddily examining the Dragonstone with new interest. Ugdulub followed a few steps behind, still dazed from the tale of Raddin and Govegein's adventure.

"Okay, Raddin go and give Farengar that stone, he kind of creeps me out. I'll stay here and help Ugdulub with his forging skills," Govegein said. He pulled the orc aside as Raddin left towards Dragonsreach. "If you do end up in the Companions, get that angry woman,"

"Aela the Huntress?" Ugdulub clarified.

"Yes, to not want to kill me. In return I'll tech you some ancient forging techniques that I bet have not been seen in an era or two," Govegein finished.

"Alright, I think I can get her on your side eventually. Now what do you think you can show an orc in the ways of smithing?" Ugdulub challenged.

After writing up some plans for some basic armor an adept smith should be able to make, _In the Dragon Cult at least_, Govegein let Ugdulub get to work on his first attempt. He would only pass Govegein's test if he fixed the flaws in the plans, he would show promise if he could improve the armor. As Ugdulub began to see the flaws in the armor he was making and rechecking the plans, Govegein caught sight of a suspicious hooded woman. She ran out of the front gates holding the Dragonstone.

"Krosis, Adrienne watch the apprentice, I've got to check something," Govegein said, beginning his pursuit.

As the woman rounded the corner in the road leaving the city, Govegein leaped off of the battlements, landing in her path. Drawing his new axe and bringing his fire spell to life. "Return the stone and I won't kill you."

"Get out of my way and I won't kill you," the hooded woman said drawing her elven blade.

"Wait, Delphine? The owner of the Sleeping Giant's Inn where Raddin and I slept after Helgen?" Govegein said confused as to why the innkeeper was pointing a sword at him. Even more so when he recognized the watered down Akaviri stance she held. Before he could investigate further, a dragon's roar ripped through the night. Off in the distance Govegein could see the firebreath, but no sign of a meteor shower, so no Alduin. When he turned back, Delphine was gone. Raddin, followed by several guards and an angry Dunmer, ran past Govegein shortly thereafter. "What in Oblivion is happening?"

"Dragon's attacking. We have to help Raddin. Set the armor to cool, and it is cool," Ugdulub said donning his armor as he ran past. Govegein sighed and followed suit, running towards the burning rubble that was a watch tower.

As he approached the watch tower, Govegein asked Raddin, "What are we up against?"

Raddin looked at him, confused, "A dragon?"

"No, there are different types of . . . you'll find out eventually," Govegein gave up his attempt to educate the Nord. While the knowledge was useful, it wasn't necessary.

"Okay, Govegein and I will search for survivors, Ugdulub and Irileth take the guards and cover for us," Raddin said. He seemed to be a natural born leader, at least in emergency situations.

As Govegein and Raddin approached the ruins, though, a guard emerged from the tower. "No, get back! It's still here somewhere! Hroki and Tor just got grabbed when they tried to make a run for it. Oh Gods, here it comes again!"

A white dragon flew in from the mountains, Govegein recognized him, it was Mirmulnir, one of Alduin's most prized stooges. While not the most powerful of the Dovah, Mirmulnir was exceedingly cunning and loyal to Alduin. MIrmulnir swooped down and incinerated a guard. A hail of arrows rose to try to meet him, but none of them hit the flying beast. Ugdulub was having problems with his bow. "Take your hammer and meet him when he lands," Govegein shouted.

"Tol zul . . . govegein dovah sonaak. Het wah fiit ahst dii iliis einzuk," Mirmulnir said. He hovered above Govegein and shot a gout of flames at him. Govegein countered with his own fire.

"Not tonight, dragon," he said.

"We will see, outcast," Mirmulnir said as he landed. Immediately, Ugdulub bought his steel hammer down on Mirmulinr's wing. Mirmulnir howled in pain as he attempted to flex his broken wing. "Hi fen biis, ogiim," he shouted before another gout of flames escaped from MIrmulnir's gaping maw. Raddin had taken Govegein's place at Mirmulnir's head and began to slash at his neck. Govegein, on the other hand had begun to work on the other wing, cutting at the thin membrane.

Mirmulnir, temporarily crippled attempted to flee, but was met with Irileth's sparks and the arrows of the guards. Raddin was back at Mirmulir's head, and he began to hack away furiously. Blocking yet another flame with his shield, Raddin climbed atop Mirmulnir's head, resting on the neck of the dragon. From there he proceeded to hack and slash at Mirmulnir's face. The dragon howled in anger and agony. Raddin, in a finishing move, stuck his sword through Mirmulnir's eye, killing him. With his dying breath, Mirmulnir gasped "Dovahkiin, no!" As Raddin slid off of Mirmulnir's neck, the dragon began to burn away. His flesh evaporating to nothingness and floating off into the sky.

Then, from the skeleton left behind, a multi-colored flame shot towards Raddin, engulfing him. The colors danced across his flesh, melding into it. In a daze Raddin took a deep breath, looked to the sky and shouted, "FUS!" The ground shook with the force of the shockwave that left the Nord's mouth.

"By Akatosh, you're a Dragonborn?" Govegein said in awe. Raddin gave Govegein his classic confused look. Govegein lead Raddin towards Whiterun, with Ugdulub close behind. "You ate Mirmulnir's soul and took power from one of the words in the barrow. What an interesting turn of events. And you!" he said grabbing the small orc. "The Companions have to take you now."

"Really?" Ugdulub said in astonishment.

"Yeah you were instrumental in defeating that dragon. He wouldn't have been able to fly for a few days at least after what you did to him. You show promise Ugd" Govegein said congratulating the boy. "Who knows, maybe one day you could take on some of the most powerful warriors of the Mythic era." The small orc's eyes lit up at this.

"But what if they don't believe me?" he said as they approached the gates of Whiterun.

"Then get Irileth to vouch for you, she saw you take out that dragon's wing," Govegein said looking towards Warmaiden's. A set of armor sat cooling by the forge, it was built around Govegein's designs, but it was different. Instead of the slopes of the ancient Nords, the Armor was adorned with angles that could only be Orismer. Images of wolves trimmed the gear and the weaknesses that were meant as tests were all fixed. Potential indeed, Govegein thought to himself. "Finish up your new armor and go talk to the companions," Govegein said sending Ugdulub off.

As Govegein lead a recovering Raddin towards Dragon's reach, he was saying, "I hear that it's the first time that will get you, but the rest will be easier."

"He knew you. He _knew_ you." Raddin kept mumbling.

Just then, voices thundered over the town, "Dovahkiin." The ground shook and the people stumbled as the two scorched warriors passed undaunted. With each step, Raddin grew stronger, more focused as the quick flash of memories faded into the new word of power. Raddin stopped leaning on Govegein and picked up the pace, he was eager to tell the Jarl that the dragon was dead.

Just as the duo reached the doors, Raddin stopped and turned. "Who are you? No evading the question this time, I saw some of the white dragon's, Mirmulnir's, memories. You were there, in strange robes with . . . others. You lead armies. You bowed before that black dragon. Who are you?"

* * *

**So Raddin finally asks the question that some of the less lore in-depth might still have some problems**

**To those who are giving suggestions, they are good, but if you don't notice any changes, it's either because I did not agree with you, or I was just lazy. Probably just lazy. I was, and am, lazy.**

**I'm just gonna apologize in advance for next week, the chapter got away from me.**


	9. Ivarstead and the Seven Thousand Steps

Chapter 8- Ivarstead and the Seven Thousand Steps

"Who are you?" Raddin persisted. In the flash of Mirmulnir's memories, he had seen something he should not have. He saw Govegein, before the war, loyal to the dragons.

Govegein sighed, "I am just a traveler now, an outcast. Once, long ago, I was a Dragon Priest, a leader of men and follower of dragons. I was found by a more pitying dragon as a baby. He pulled me out of the rubble of a village he burned down. I was miraculously almost unscathed, only a wound around my eye that would never fully heal. I was brought up in the Dragon Cult, and I sided with the humans in the war. My 'betrayal' lead to my punishment, I was branded an outcast, in the dragon tongue 'govegein'." He finished the quick rundown of his life. Could it really be boiled down to just that?

"If that is true, how are you here, now?" Raddin questioned. From what he had picked up, Gvegein learned that they were in the fourth era, a system of years that started after Tiber Septim united Tamriel, centuries after the Dragon Wars.

"I'm not entirely sure myself," Govegein half lied. "Anyway, report to the Jarl. I'm going to see if that wizard will buy dragon bones." He pushed Raddin inside the keep, quickly changing the subject. As Govegein bartered with the mage, the Jarl and his entourage explained to Raddin what the thundering voices that sounded as the group entered the city.

Govegein walked up to the Jarl and the new Dragonborn as they began discussing rewards for killing Mirmulnir. "You are now Thane of Whiterun. You may take Lydia as your personal housecarl, and you can take this battle axe from my personal armory," Jarl Balgruuf said as he handed Raddin a sizable axe wreathed in a green mist.

"Hey, it's not like he did it on his own," Govegein said, "Where are the rewards for everyone else?" While the dragon cult were practically enslaved to the dragons, the at least rewarded their subjects evenly.

The Jarl glared down at him, he did not like the look of this newcomer, despite what Farengar had told him. "Fine, how about I don't have you executed for your insolence, Breton," the Jarl snarled from his throne. Balgruuf had no love for the manmer, like many others.

"My Jarl, I do not mean to contradict you, but he did bring the dragon to the ground, allowing the rest of us to kill it," Irileth interrupted. She took a risk standing up to her Jarl, but she couldn't just watch him do this to someone who saved the city.

Balgruuf covered this eyes in thought. "Fine, you can have. . . Breezehome," he said in defeat, "I didn't plan on multiple heroes, alright?" Balgruuf muttered under his breath.

"What about Ugdulub?" Raddin said. Govegein elbowed him in the ribs. The Orc had gotten what he wanted from this and Govegein did not want to lose his new house.

"Don't push your luck," Irileth cautioned. She knew that what animosity Balgruuf had for Bretons was nothing compared to his hatred of the Orcs.

As Raddin and Govegein left the court, they were interrupted by an armor clad woman. She had shoulder length brown hair, and a strong, angular face. The walked expectantly towards Raddin. "I am your housecarl, Lydia. I am sworn to you, Thane Raddin. I will follow any order you give," she said, listing off her duties.

Govegein smiled inwardly. "Okay then, carry this loot that I've had since Bleakfalls," Govegein said handing her a bag. Inside were countless weapons and burial urns that he took from every corpse and hallway in the barrow.

She dropped the bag on the floor, the urns shattering on impact. "I am not your housecarl," she said looking defiantly at the taller Breton. Lydia did not know who the man was, Govegein had stayed in the shadows on his only other visit to Dragonsreach, but she knew that he did not respect her.

This was going to be fun. "Ooh, I just got some new spells and I want to try them out. Don't worry, I won't kill her," Govegein said as fire engulfed his hands. He could tell that she was the sort of person that had problems with the other races, would probably stand other people's way, and was not even that good of a fighter. Even under all of that, he felt that she had a need to prove herself. Govegein respected that, but that would not keep him from his fun.

"My thane, please allow me to send this fool to Sovngarde," Lydia said, drawing her sword. A mage? He was a mage and he dared to fight her? She failed to notice the weapons at his side, and if she knew magic, she would know that those spells he was preparing could break through even daedric armor.

"I won't be able to stop this will I?" Raddin asked hopelessly.

"No," both combatants replied.

* * *

"You didn't have to do that to her," Raddin said recalling the duel which Govegein won. The two were on their way to the town of Ivarstead. It sat at the foot of the Seven Thousand Steps, which lead to High Hrothgar, where Raddin would learn the way of the Voice from the Greybeards. They were making excellent time rounding the mountain.

"What, with the fire spell or the lightning spell?" Govegein asked, wanting to know what Raddin meant by "that". He knew perfectly well what Raddin meant, this was just the most fun he had had in years.

"Neither, it was what you did after that was unnecessary." Raddin shuddered at the memory. Hopefully, the townspeople would not tell Lydia about it. She was unconscious and Govegein did it in the town square.

"Well at least I'm letting her recover in my new house right?" Govegein said. After the spectacle, Govegein and Raddin dragged the Nordic woman to Breezehome and laid her down in the master bed.

"You'll be lucky if there's a house left when you get back." Raddin replied. His new Thane did not seem to be the type to let this go quickly, even the loss of the duel.

* * *

The duo finally reached Ivarstead, after a few days of nonstop travel. Raddin exhausted, collapsed on the bridge. "Oh, come on. You should have more stamina than that." Govegein said, dragging the sleeping Nord past a burnt down house. Govegein promptly tripped on a body lying in the road. "Oh great, now I have to watch over two sleeping idiots." Looking at the newcomer, he saw that it was a Dunmer girl. She had startlingly white hair that was braided and fell across her shoulder. She was also the most ridiculously attractive Dunmer he had ever seen.

As she woke, she said in a soft voice, "By Nocturnal, it happened again." Daedra worshiper? Probably, the Chimer were cursed into the Dunmer because of it. No there was something else, something darker about her.

"What happened again?" Govegein asked. He was still lying on the ground, his feet over hers and Raddin asleep next to them. She was wearing black and red robes over what seemed to be leather armor of the same colors.

"Oh, did you trip on me? I'm so sorry, sometimes I have these . . . blackouts and I wake up in completely different places days, sometimes weeks or more, later," she said. "I'm Reysi, by the way. Um, do you need help with your friend?"

The two of them propped Raddin up by the house. Be careful there is definitely something off here. "You should probably get that whole blackout thingy checked out, who knows what could be done to you during those times," Govegein said.

"Yeah probably," Reysi said, watching the sun rise. Slowly, thin steam began to rise from her body. She pulled a hood over her head, blocking out the sun.

"You're a vampire," Govegein said in astonishment. _Great, a vampire_. But he could tell that that was not what he sensed. There was something else, something darker, bloodier. Darker and bloodier that a vampire?

"Does it scare you?" she asked looking at him over her shoulder. The burning golden eyes locked with his blue and gold. There was sorrow, fear, and something else in them.

"No, I just don't have the best track record with your kind. It might scare him though," Govegein said nodding towards Raddin who was beginning to stir. "Rise and shine, tough guy. We're climbing the Steps today."

"Can I come with you, I've wanted to try the pilgrimage some of these Nords are so fond of?" Reysi asked, helping Raddin wake. As far as she knew she had never gone up the Steps. Besides, anyone who did not run at first sight of a vampire was someone she could get along with.

"Sure, there shouldn't be anything too dangerous on the Steps," Govegein said. Raddin stirred, mumbling about meat and not saying that.

"You just had to say that didn't you?" Raddin shouted referring to Govegein's earlier remark.

"How was he supposed to know that a troll had a den up here?" Reysi defended.

The two were watching the Frost Troll chase Govegein around. His ice enchanted axe did little to nothing against the beast, and he couldn't fire many spells yet. Even after all this time, my magika still hasn't returned to normal. It was like he really started at the beginning again, his pool of available magika, for these spells at least, had dwindled to near nothingness. Govegein could only use his spells sparingly, and the troll quickly healed.

Drawing his sword, Govegein faced the furry biped. He shot a gout of flame at the beast and began to quickly cut at it while it was stunned. The fire seemed to be interrupting the regeneration process, so Govegein focused his cuts where the beat burned. Jumping back, he once again heated the blade of his sword with a small spell and pierced the troll's third eye.

Pulling the cooling blade from the Troll's corpse, he looked at his two companions. "Thanks for the help."

"You looked like you had it," Raddin said.

As the trio moved on, some of the ice, melted by the fight, fell off of the troll's perch. It hit Reysi on her head knocking her over. "By the mace." She said in a more gruff voice.

"That must be it," Govegein said. Different voice, same body. There must be someone else in there. Explains the blackouts.

"Hmm? Oh she must have gotten herself two more admirers while I was out," Reysi said rising. "I'm sure she gave you some half-baked blackout story, but in reality it's much different."

"Am I missing something?" Raddin said confused. He only knew that the alluring Dark Elf was a vampire.

"She's a vampire, probably has been for a very long time. The mortal mind can only stand so many centuries before it begins to fade." Govegein said disapprovingly. For all he knew she could be as old as the Dunmer race.

"The mortal mind, as you so kindly put it, can only take so much. Sometimes it splits, shatters. She is Reysi and I am Reysi. Now who are we off to kill?" She said expectantly. Looking at the astonished face of the warrior and the annoyed one of the battlemage. She said, "What, I killed the beggar, now I need to kill the bard and the miner right?"

"What happened to the sweet, caring Dark Elf vampire?" Raddin said. She was so kind hearted, she cried about having to kill the wolves and even the spider on their way up. Though she had no problem with troll slaying.

"She is not here anymore, she will resurface eventually. Reysi is actually an assassin, I'm guessing. Any way you can finish your pilgrimage with us, or you can finish your assassinations. Just don't draw us in to it." Govegein said. He had no clue what the Dunmer had been through, but she looked like she could use some friends. Govegein knew the new look in her eye too well, Otar looked the same when they first met.

"Well, I think I'll stick with this handsome little morsel for now," Reysi said grabbing Raddin. Govegein began to laugh as Raddin mouthed 'Help me'.

As the trio reached High Hrothgar, Govegein finally pulled Reysi off of Raddin, stopping her from threatening to make him a thrall. As they entered the castle, Raddin was greeted by an old man in grey robes. As the Greybeards tested Raddin, Govegein saw Reysi off.

"I might check in on you guys periodically," she said as she descended the mountain.

"I hate vampires," Govegein said turning back into High Hrothgar. Walking up to Raddin he said, "I remember Jurgen Windcaller, that Nord could hold his ale. Before finding peace in the Thu'um, he made money in drinking contests."

"Well get ready for a walk down memory way, because we get to retrieve his horn from his crypt," Raddin said with false enthusiasm. Govegein's face lit up with almost real enthusiasm.

Upon exiting High Hrothgar, Govegein and Raddin met an exhausted Lydia. "I . . . finally . . . caught up . . . with you two. Oh, that was a lot of steps. Did you guys see a Dark Elf girl jumping down the side of the mountain?"

"You're just in time! We're leaving and I was tired of carrying my own stuff," Govegein said passing her. Her eye twitched as he patted her shoulder.

She turned to yell back but Raddin put his hand on her shoulder and said, "Save your breath for the trek down." He handed her a large bag of Govegein's 'souvenirs' and the trio set off for Ustengrav.

* * *

**I lost the fight. I'm going to have to go back in a few days, to uh clear up some things.**

**In the meantime . . . I actually forgot that I gave Reysi white hair. I was thinking red for some reason. I've actually got a fairly complex background for her and I want to get into it with her own story, if I ever finish Ugdulub's.**


	10. Grave Robbing

Chapter 9- Grave Robbing

"Bandits and Necromancers, how do you want to go about this?" Govegein turned to Raddin. They were sitting behind a fallen log in the swaps in front of the entrance to Ustengrav.

"Why do I have to find a way through these guys?" Raddin complained, he seemed to be getting used to Lydia doing everything for him. _I'm surprised he doesn't have her changing him . . . yet._

"Because you're the thane, and the Dragonborn, and the guy the Greybeards sent for this. Any questions?" Govegein said.

"Just one: Should we help her?" Raddin said. It was only then that Govegein noticed that Lydia was gone. He looked over at the camp and saw her fighting the bandits, each one she slew was risen by a necromancer.

Govegein sighed, this was only proving his point. "Yes, you should be doing that and, she is about to be overwhelmed by undead," he explained. The two jumped over the log to find the necromancers dead and the bandits ashes. Looking at the carnage as the wind swept away the residue of undead, Govegein said, "Say what you want about her intelligence, or lack thereof," Lydia shot a death-glare at him, "but the woman can handle herself in a fight,"

"Yeah, how did you beat her again?" Raddin said remembering the outcome of Govegein's and Lydia's 'friendly' duel.

The three climbed up the dome of the barrow's entrance. Lydia shot another glare at Govegein, which was becoming a habit, and said, "He cheated." Raddin laughed and entered the barrow.

Govegein countered with, "No, I used the tools I had that you didn't, and still don't, have. Magic and better skill with a blade to name a few." Lydia punched him, hard, in the arm and followed Raddin into the barrow. Govegein followed to find Raddin and Lydia crouched behind some rubble spying on yet more necromancers. One was an Altmer female while the other was a Nordic male.

"I will attack first, my Thane," Lydia said.

Raddin took a more comfortable seat and nodded, but Govegein had to step in. "No I think that you should let your 'Thane' get some exercise. Anyway, don't you want to see the Dragonborn in action?" Lydia lit up at the chance to see her Thane wipe the floor with the necromancers she took for granted. "Looks like you're up, Dovahkiin," Govegein said pushing Raddin out of cover.

As Raddin crept up behind the Necromancers, he overheard them talking. "These bandits become much more efficient diggers after you kill them," the Altmer said to the Nord.

The other Necromancer looked at the first to reply and saw Raddin creeping up behind her. Raddin rose and Shouted, "Fus Ro!" A shockwave left his mouth and the two Necromancers fell back. As the undead Bandits rushed him, Raddin drew his new battle axe. As he swung he absorbed any remaining stamina in the undead. With another wide swing, he sliced them open and they fell to ashes. Then a shard of ice embedded itself in Raddin's back, followed by a bolt of lightning.

"We should help him, he needs someone to watch his back," Lydia said, trying to shake off Govegein's hand. He only pulled her down to the ground and held her there.

"No he will be fine. This is his ordeal, not ours. He is the one who needs to prove himself worthy of the dragon blood within him," Govegein said, "Let's stay hidden and let him take on his ordeal." He cast an invisibility spell over the two on them as Raddin finished off the Altmer Necromancer.

"You planned this," Lydia accused. Raddin hacked away at the Nord as he tried to revive his friend.

"I want to see him succeed as much as you do, but I want him to grow by himself," Govegein explained as Raddin was drawn to screams from the next room. "Follow but don't get too close." Lydia begrudgingly followed.

* * *

As Raddin rounded the corner, he saw three Necromancers desperately fight off several Draugr. Instincts taking over, he bashed one of the Draugr's heads in with the butt of his axe. Focusing on the next one he wedged his battle axe in its chest as ice and fire flew around him. A Draugr near the back looked at him with those empty, glowing eyes. It took a breath and shouted "Fus."

"Of course some of them can shout, I'm such an idiot," Raddin said as he was knocked back. He put his axe on his back, exchanging it for his shield, and drew his sword. He ran towards this Scourge, he decided on a name for this class of Draugr, with his shield blocking a gust of ice and snow. He sliced away at the Scourge, as he finished it off, though, a gout of flames hit his back. The necromancers had turned on their savior. The rush of heroic adrenaline wore off as Raddin was forced to kill the people he meant to save. He thought he heard a gasp as he walked deeper into the crypt.

"Wait," he said after he finished off a final Draugr in a room filled with Sarcophagi, "where are Govegein and Lydia? I thought that they would have followed me by now. I just hope Govegein doesn't accidentally try anything like he did with that companion." Somewhere behind him, a soft thud sounded, like someone punching someone else.

Climbing a set of stairs led the lone Dragonborn to a bridge that crossed the room. Following a hallway on the other side of the bridge lead to a set of doors. Raddin stepped through the doors only to find an even more ruined version of the ruins he had walked through. He sighed and glanced at a hole in the rocky wall, and instantly did a double take. From the hole, he could see a vast cavern, more ruins lined one of the sides that he could see and, down in a basin, Raddin thought he saw a wall similar to the one in Bleak Falls.

Excitedly, he ran deeper into the crypt, only to run face first into a Draugr. "Don't mind me, I'm just . . . passing through?" Raddin instantly cursed himself. The Draugr drew an old sword and pointed it at Raddin. "Yeah, that would not work here would it?" Dodging the slashes of the Draugr, Raddin drew his own sword. Bashing the Draugr with his shield, he cut at his off-balance opponent.

As the first Draugr fell, he noticed another one running across a bridge over the room. Raddin rushed towards a doorway on the opposite side of the room. As he approached it, the Draugr stood in the way and blasted him with ice. As Raddin fought of the Scourge he heard a sword being drawn from its sheath. Stabbing his sword through the Scourge's head, he whirled around with his battle axe at the ready. There were no Draugr sneaking up behind him, no left over bandits or necromancers who had followed him into the tomb. Suspicious, he put away his axe and retrieved his sword.

Raddin retraces the scourge's steps to find a room with two sarcophagi in it. As he moved through the room sloshing sounds drew his attention to the oil at his feet. Then the lids of the sarcophagi flew open. From them emerged two more Draugr, eager for their first fight in centuries. Drawing his battle axe, Raddin backed away from the two undead. One seemed to chuckle as he drew his bow. Looking up, Raddin cursed, there was a fire trap above his head. As the Draugr's arrow flew, Raddin dove away. The arrow broke the clay orb, releasing the fire across the oil. Raddin panted as the flames roared in front of him, then a flaming form emerged from the fires. The Draugr drew a battle axe and charged Raddin. Putting up his own defenses, Raddin grunted at the force of the undead warrior's charge. Pain split into his side, from the other side of the fire, the archer Draugr shot at Raddin. Throwing the warrior into the flames, Raddin hacked at the decaying flesh. Feeling rejuvenated, he walked through the now dying flames towards the Draugr that had tried to burn him. As it began to reach for its sword, Raddin split its skull. "This axe is great, I will have to thank Balgruuf next time I see him," Raddin said exiting the room.

Following the short tunnel, Raddin found himself in the Cavern he had seen from the hole in the wall. Jumping across fallen pillars he made his way to the floor. As he peered over the cliff he confirmed that the wall was the same as the one in Bleak Falls. Running down a path that was carved out of the side of the wall, he approached the secluded wall. Chanting filled his head, but he could not make out what they were saying, it seemed to be in Draconic though. Touching the stone, he felt the rush of knowledge as the chanting grew and the ethereal flames crawled into Raddin's head. The chanting stopped and suddenly Raddin knew a new word, Feim.

"Feim? What in Oblivion does that mean?" Raddin pondered the unfamiliar word as he left the basin. "So the Greybeards were right, just finding the words will not let me use the shout. If I kill another Dragon and absorb his soul, I will be able to learn more about the word. But what else will I learn from it?" he shuddered at the memory of his experience with Mirmulnir's soul. Crossing a bridge that rose over the basin, Raddin stood looking at three strange stones. As he approached one, it glowed red, and an arrow flew past him. In an alcove looking over the exit from the large cavern, stood three skeletons with bow and arrows. Raddin sighed at the annoyance and quickly dispatched them.

Jumping back down to the stones, Raddin discovered that approaching one activated it. While activated, some of the gates barring the exit opened, but the stones quickly deactivated. Raddin tried sprinting for the tenth time before coming to a conclusion, he was too slow. Then it hit him. Sprinting past the stones to activate them all, he ran towards the gates and took a deep breath. He shouted "Wund," and he was past the gates before he knew it. Striding confidently forward he climbed the steps leading onward. As he entered the next room he froze.

* * *

"Okay we should probably help him now," Govegein said dropping the invisibility and approaching the stunned Raddin.

"Why you proved that he could make it on his own, why not let him finish what he started?" Lydia said. She had begun to like tailing her thane, even if Govegein had to stop her from interfering sometimes.

"Because your 'heroic' thane is deathly afraid of spiders," Govegein explained gesturing to the webbing that covered the room they were in. "I'll kill the spiders, you drag him." Govegein walked off into the nest. As Lydia tried to get her thane to move, she saw bright red and blue flashes coming from past the rubble. Carefully traversing the fire traps that lined the floor, she walked into a scene out of Vaermina's proudest works.

Charred spider parts were scattered all over the floor, their guts covering the walls. An undamaged Govegein stood fighting a gigantic spider over the fire traps. The two were covered in flames as Govegein cut off one of the spider's arms. The quick frozen flesh crumbled as the flames tore it apart and Govegein did not let up. Hacking away at the beast as it roasted, Govegein barely even showed a sign of exhaustion. As the giant spider fell, the traps ran out of fuel and govegein walked towards Lydia. He grabbed Raddin and threw him through the web covered doorway.

"Why would you do that?" Lydia shouted at him. She ran towards her thane to check on him.

"Disgusting Raddin, did you wet yourself?" Govegein said, completely ignoring the outraged housecarl.

"Spiders are evil, your complaints are invalid," Raddin said from the next room.

"That does not justify you wetting yourself like a child," Govegein countered, following them into the next room.

"Where were you two anyway? Oh no! Lydia did he touch you? Did he force you to-" Govegein hit him in the head.

"Don't get carried away, we were testing you," he said.

"You dented my helmet," Govegein muttered as he walked towards the other side of the room. Most of the room was submerged, but a bridge still lead to the other side. On the opposite side of the room was a stone coffin with a sculpture of a hand rising from the top. Clutched in the hand was a note. "Hey, Govegein, Lydia, you might want to see this," Raddin said running across the bridge. As he ran, monuments rose out of the water creating an image of sea serpents guarding the grave of Jurgen Windcaller.

Following Raddin, Govegein and Lydia crossed the bridge. After reading the note, Raddin handed it to Govegein. It was addressed to Raddin, or rather the Dragonborn. The writer wanted to talk with him and told him to rent an attic room at the Sleeping Giant Inn. The note was signed 'A friend'.

"I don't like this," Govegein said, handing the note to Lydia. "I don't think that the Sleeping Giant Inn even has an attic to put a room into."

"But this person must have the horn," Lydia said. "They seem to want to help, why don't we go to see them?"

"If they want to help us then let them seek us out. Besides, I don't trust that innkeeper," Govegein argued. He recalled that it was Delphine who had taken the dragon stone from Farengar.

"Whether we trust them or not, we will have to meet them to get the Horn of Jurgen Windcaller," Raddin said. "So, we will meet with this person. If they do anything suspicious, we hurt them. If they don't, we get new allies." The three used the old escape route to leave Ustengrav.

* * *

**And so begins the tale of the Blades. If you've played the game, you know where this is going. If you haven't, then play it.**

**I'm starting a side story following everyone's favorite wimp of an orc so check it out after I post it**

**Sadly this means that I will also have to lengthen the time between posts, sorry. **


	11. Dragon Hunting

Chapter 10- Dragon Hunting

"Well . . . we don't have an attic room, but you can have the one on the left. Make yourself at home," Delphine said. She led Raddin to the single person room. Govegein held back in the main room to keep watch for their 'friend' while Lydia went to the shop to sell Govegein's numerous _souvenirs_.

Govegein sat, listening to the bard sing about Ragnar the Red. About an hour later, he noticed Delphine entering Raddin's room. _Of course, she took the Horn. How did I not see it sooner?_ Govegein thought to himself as Delphine lead Raddin across the inn. When Govegein approached them, however, Delphine stopped him, saying that she wanted to speak to Raddin privately.

"Govegein can listen in," Raddin said.

"No, I'm not taking any risks. Your friend stays outside," Delphine would not relent. What, was she bitter about the fight? Whatever risks she was talking about were fueled by her own paranoia and dislike of him.

Govegein found himself outside of the inn when Lydia approached with a bag of septims. Govegein spent his time making new weapons for himself and Lydia at the forge. He made an axe and a sword for himself, to replace his older ones, out of a metal compound the Dwarves used. For Lydia's gear, he used Malachite, sturdy, but tougher to use in weapons. Lydia marveled at the craftsmanship of her new sword and shield.

Raddin emerged from the Sleeping Giant Inn as Govegein tested the sharpness of his new blades. "We're going to Kynesgrove to kill a dragon," he said confidently. As Delphine followed him out of the inn he mouthed 'please help me'. With that, the four began the trek eastward.

* * *

A few nights later the party was in the wetlands of Eastmarch. Govegein tended to the campfire while Raddin went to sleep almost immediately. Delphine sat across from the Breton, she was wary after their encounter outside of Whiterun. Lydia was roasting some venison as she rested awkwardly between the opposing Bretons. Raddin suddenly broke the silence "GRIND! GRIND! GRIND! KILL! KILL! KILL!" Having another one of his uncanny dreams.

Delphine, shocked, asked "Does he do that often?" This was her first night near the Dragonborn, so shock was understandable.

"More than he knows," Lydia sighed. She had first learned about her Thane's 'condition' in Ivarstead where he terrified a poor villager with his screams.

"I think he is experiencing a second life. While this body sleeps, his soul drifts to another plane. For all that we know, that kind of talk is normal there," Govegein said. "If that is true, he would make an excellent research subject." _Morokei would have a day_, he thought.

"Now you sound like Sheogorath. I think that Vaermina just has a special interest in him," Delphine said, spitting out the Daedric names with disgust.

Changing the subject, Govegein asked Lydia, "So how did you end up as Raddin's Thane?" The housecarl never talked about her past, or how she ended up in this situation. Govegein doubted it was something she really wanted Raddin to hear.

Blushing she said, "Well, the first time I saw Raddin was when the Jarl sent you two off to find the Dragonstone. I thought that he looked too scared to be the mercenary everyone else thought he was. Up until I became a housecarl I was just a city guard, like many people, the free food and shelter was too good to pass up. When Raddin returned, he looked less frightened and I found myself thinking, I would like to travel with this man. So when he left, I asked the Jarl if I could leave my guard duties and next thing I knew I was gearing up to be Raddin's housecarl. Then you showed up." She glared at Govegein, remembering how she woke up after their duel.

After another lengthy silence, Lydia asked "What is the history between you and Raddin anyway? You seem more relaxed around him." As much as he hated to admit it, Raddin's presence seemed to have a soothing effect. Maybe it was the fact that he was a Dragonborn, maybe it was that he reminded Govegein of his friends before the war.

Govegein told Lydia and Delphine how he and Raddin met, and their escape from Helgen, he also told them that he was traveling from Daggerfall through Cyrodill. "That is really it, I wanted a guide for this country and Raddin did not want to be left for the wolves. As we traveled, he became . . . competent with a blade and learned that he is the last Dragonborn. I'm only following now to see the end of Alduin," he said, finishing his tale.

"There has to be more than that, you have only known each other for a fortnight at most," Lydia said.

"Just let it go. They are a compatible team, nothing else," Delphine said going to sleep.

"Since you brought this up, you get first watch," Govegein said, falling onto his back and feigning sleep. Lydia sat astonished as he drifted away.

* * *

The next day, the quartet had reached Kynesgrove only to be met by a distressed villager. "Run! A dragon is attacking," she said.

"Has it killed anyone?" Delphine asked.

"No, it's just flying around the hilltop," the villager replied.

Off in the distance Govegein heard a roar tear through the peaceful atmosphere of Kynesgrove. The four adventurers ran towards the hilltop. What he saw flying above the hill made Govegein stop dead in his tracks. Alduin, Bane of Kings, circled the burial mound. Alduin said, "Salkohnir, zii gro dovah fah ul. Slen Tiid Vo," finishing the incantation.

As the dragon, Salkohnir, in the burial mound awoke, Alduin looked down at Govegein. "Eh, sonaak, het wah daal wah hin wuth in?"

Salkohnir, regaining his flesh, said "Nid, ko sul mindin hin vik rok grut mii. Rok los nu govegein." Alduin glared down at the newly reformed dragon. Salkohniir hurredly said, "Frolaaz zey, Zu'u vodahmaan dii staad."

Alduin nodded and began to leave, saying "Ruz krii daar mey ahrk kos drehlaan voth nii." The Bane of Kings flew off into the distance and Salkohnir eyed the adventurers. Govegein and Delphine readied their weapons, leading Raddin and Lydia to follow suit.

Salkohnir took off, breathing a frosty gale at his opponents. Lydia shot him with arrows as Govegein burned him with some fire. When Salkohnir eventually landed, Raddin and Delphine were on him in an instant. Raddin cut at the thin membrane of Salohnir's wings, learning from his last fight. Delphine rushed in with her thin blade, trying to find holes in Salkohnir's scaly hide.

Govegein and Lydia followed suit, drawing their new swords and cutting at Salkohnir's face. Enraged, he released another gale of frost. Lydia blocked the brunt of the ice with her shield while Govegein dodged towards Delphine. Seeing an opening in Lydia's defenses, Salkohnir rose his head high. In one swift movement he took Lydia in his jaws, puncturing her armor.

"Lydia!" Raddin screamed. The steel armor cracked under the pressure.

The dragon shook his head, ending her struggles.

Raddin furiously cut at Salkohnir's neck, but his blade bounced off of the armor like scales.

Salkohnir swallowed Lydia's lifeless body, laughing. Bringing his head down to attack again, Salkohnir found a blade entering from under his jaw. Govegein appeared, cutting a gash in the bottom of Salkohnir's mouth. Shoving his sword into the gash, he held the dragon's head in place. "Finish him!" Govegein shouted at Raddin, who took the chance to thrust his sword into Salkohnir's eye. Taking his axe, Raddin brought it down on the dragon's head as it began to dissolve. Even as Salkohnir's soul entered Raddin, he kept smashing his axe into the lifeless skull.

Govegein reached out to Raddin who spun around shouting "YOU KILLED HER! YOU KILLED HER!"

* * *

"I Sent Lydia's body back to Whiterun with Delphine, who wants to talk with you back at the Sleeping Giant Inn when you're ready," Govegein told Raddin who was sitting on Salkohnir's skeleton. They had found Lydia's body, relatively unharmed, in Salkohnir's ribcage.

"Feim . . . it means fade. Kind of fitting in a way." Raddin said. He wiped away tears.

"What do you mean?"

"The word I learned for that dragon's soul, it was fade. Lydia has now faded, along with the memories of what you took from Salkohnir."

"I killed the dragon most precious to him. I'm no Dragonborn, so he could have been revived, but it hurt Salkohnir none the less. He had always been one of the more docile of the Dovah, he had never eaten any humans, but his friend's death changed Salkohnir. He still blamed me and wanted to fight, not that he wouldn't have attacked you if I wasn't here. He was just . . . more savage this time." Govegein explained. He remembered that day, maybe a week before Alduin fought on the Throat of the World, a dragon had found some rebels and the Dragon Priest who helped them.

"The other dragon was more than a friend to him," Raddin said. "Like a lover."

Govegein shook his head, "Dragons don't mate, they just are. Their nature had always been a mystery, but that was what made them seem even more divine. Friendship is the closest they can technically get. But yes, those two were close."

"Either way, they are dead now, Salkohnir used as fuel and Lydia in Sovngarde," Raddin said.

"By the eight, I forgot. Alduin began eating the souls of the dead to gain power, Lydia is still in danger." The Breton knew little about what Sovngarde was like, even less of what Alduin could do to it, but he knew that no soul was safe there now.

"Then we will just have to kill Alduin all the faster." Raddin calmly said. He rose and began to walk off.

"One more thing, with Dragonborns, the more dragon souls they consume the closer to them they become. Just be careful not to lose yourself to the memories of the dead." Govegein cautioned Raddin as they began the trek to Riverwood.

"What do you mean?" Raddin asked, confused. Raddin did not understand how the countless souls of dragons could change a mortal. He could fall into the same path as Miraak at this rate.

"As you become closer to the dragons, you will begin to crave power. Do not let this craving consume you like it did so many others," Govegein finished. Miraak had been volatile before the incident, but it made him worse with only one soul.

"I am not like any others," Raddin said walking away.

* * *

By the time that Raddin and Govegein had returned to the Sleeping Giant, they were exhausted. They had taken a detour to High Hrothgar to return Jurgen Wincaller's horn, and complete Raddin's Unrelenting Force Shout, and they stopped in Whiterun to pay their respects to Lydia. The small village of Riverwood held some welcoming distractions for both adventurers. Meeting and planning with Delphine helped take Raddin's mind off of Kynesgrove. Delphine still did not trust Govegein enough to let him in on these meetings, even if he could probably answer all of her questions. He spent his time in the town working on some new armor.

He sat, putting on the finishing touches to his new Orichalcum armor, when Raddin walked up to him. The armor still held to Govegein's styles as he crafted, an augmentation of the Ancient Nordic armor found on Draugr. Raddin tapped Govegein on his shoulder, taking him from his work. "Delphine is sending me to a party in the Thalmor Embassy."

"Okay, when do we set off?" Govegein said. Parties were rare in the Dragon Cult, but when they did happen they were amazing. Govegein hoped this one was at least half as good as those, but knowing the elves that could be a stretch.

"No, just me. She only had one Invitation," Raddin said apologetically.

Govegein rolled his eyes. "That is a shame, because I was looking forward to socializing with cheap Aldmer knockoffs," he said sarcastically. "I'll find something else to take up my time while you rub elbows with the enemy." As he said that a cloaked figure approached them. "See something else to pass my time."

Raddin sighed. "So we'll meet up again tomorrow at Breezehome?"

Govegein nodded sending Raddin off. The cloaked person then moved closer to Govegein and said, "I said that I would check in." No.

Reysi removed her hood and wrapped herself around Govegein. "Get off succubus." No, no.

"Hey not all vampires use sexual situations to get close enough to feed. I mean, I do sometimes, no often, but I'm sure there is a vampire or two who don't," she complained, releasing Govegein.

"What do you want?" This is a bad idea.

"Well, I need a date to a wedding, and you seem like the kind of person who likes those things," Reysi explained. She was gathering up Govegein's new armor and pushing him onto the road.

"Might as well, I have nothing else to do," Govegein said. "One question though. What exactly is a wedding?" This is a horrible idea.

* * *

**Crashing weddings and headbutting Daedra, both have a 50/50 chance of turning out awesome. The other half . . . not so much.**

**This is actually where I lost Lydia in my first playthrough, which of course means that I accidentally killed her. I didn't even notice for a few days, but I found her at the burial mound, so I could guess what happened.**


	12. Fleeing Solitude

Chapter 11- Fleeing Solitude

Govegein watched as Reysi jumped off of the ledge. "Come on, I'm going to need some help in the daylight," she said running past him. The guards were already emptying out of their barracks. Reysi had just killed Vittoria Vicci in broad daylight during Vittoria's wedding. Govegein had been forced into an outfit made by the local clothier to attend what he had assumed to be a normal wedding. He grew suspicious when he heard that Vittoria was the Emperor's cousin. When Reysi had disappeared from his side, it took him seconds to see her on the balcony behind Vittoria. Before Govegein even knew what was happening, Vittoria was dead with a knife in her back and Reysi was running his way.

Turning to follow Reysi, Govegein shouted "What did you just pull me into?" They sprinted towards an entrance to the sewers and dropped in. Retrieving their gear from their respective hiding spots, they began to equip their armor as they moved through the sewers.

"Oh, it's nothing to big. Just a job for the Dark Brotherhood, which you might find a nice place in by the way." Reysi eyed Govegein in his Orichalcum armor, "Yes, I think we could have fun with you."

"No. One I do not kill for money, and two I'm never going anywhere with you again." Govegein said pulling up his hood. They left the sewers below Solitude, Reysi shying away from the sunlight. She covered her Dark Brotherhood armor with a black cloak, pulling the hood far over her face.

She sighed, "It would be fun. I wonder if we could both fit in the Night Mother's coffin."

"What?" He didn't know what a Night Mother was and he didn't want to.

"There is a lot of room in there, I'm just wondering if we could fit two people and a rotting corpse." Reysi looked at Govegein like this was a normal thought.

"This must be what Raddin felt like when we first met." Govegein said. He and Reysi were walking along the coast now. The sun was dipping towards the horizon and the scene might be romantic, if Govegein was not in full armor and Reysi was not under a heavy cloak. Reysi opened her mouth to say something else, but a shout from behind them caught their attention. The guards had found them. _These guys are good at spotting their targets if nothing else._

The chase began, Reysi and Govegein darted along the road, the guards in pursuit. "I love how there are more guards than people in cities these days, don't you?" Reysi shouted as Govegein threw a small bottle at one of the guards. Just before it hit the guard, Govegein shot a small flame at it. The fire lit the flammable cloth at the top of the bottle, igniting it. As the bottle hit the guard, it exploded. The blast took out a few guards, toppling others, and making whoever was left trip on the bodies.

"You're very handy in situations like this aren't you?" Reysi shouted as they sprinted away from the relentless mob. They turned and began climbing the mountains, trying to find cover.

As they were passing a cave a thundering voice blasted over them "Fus Ro Dah!" A wounded Frost Troll flew out of a nearby cave, over the wanted duo. Govegein grabbed Reysi and pulled her into the cave. They ran into a startled Raddin guiding a Bosmer and a Breton through the cave.

"What are you doing here?" Raddin said looking at Govegein. Then he saw Reysi, "And what is _she_ doing here?"

"Yeah, funny story, I'm sure you'll love it. Right now though, we should stay in here while those guards play with that Frost Troll." Reysi quickly said.

The group moved deeper into the cave, they figured that if the guards won the fight, they would have lost Govegein and Reysi's trail. If the Troll won, it would be too focused on healing to fight back. "Let's start with why you two are here." Raddin said.

"Well, that hooded figure back in Riverwood was Reysi, as I'm sure you guessed," Govegein began. Not much reaction, yet.

"I told him that I needed a date for a wedding." The astonished listeners stared at Govegein. They probably figured that he attended in armor, which he almost did. Shouts were heard outside as the guards met the Troll.

"Just wait, it will make sense soon. So, we go to Solitude, I figure why not it would be a decent change of pace. Upon entering we were insulted on our choice of apparel by some dim-witted Altmer." She had even rushed out of a crowd watching a beheading to insult them. It was an eventful day in Solitude.

"We were covered in blood," Reysi interrupted. The Troll roared and thuds were heard as guards fell.

"So we get into a change of formal cloths, from that elf's shop no less, and make our way to the temple of the Eight. We start mingling with the nobles in attendance. That was when I learned that the bride was the Emperor's cousin. I heard her beginning her public address, and turned to watch. On the balcony, I noticed a shadow reaching out to the bride."

"And here I was thinking that no one saw." The sounds of the brawl grew outside, that Troll took on an entire band of guards and held its own.

"Reysi, a member of the Dark Brotherhood by the way, stabbed the bride in the back, leaving her to fall into the crowd, blood covering some poor young boy. We ran, took our gear and were chased here," Govegein said, finishing his rendition of that day's events. "So what are you doing here Raddin, and who are these two?"

"Well, I was infiltrating a Thalmor party for Delphine. The wood elf is my contact, he smuggled in some gear for me. The Breton is a prisoner that I released. I'm afraid that I can't really say much more than that." Raddin would not give any more details.

Govegein began looking around the frozen cave. A ledge higher up on the wall presumably lead to the Thalmor Embassy. Off in one corner was the remains of the Frost Troll's last meal. It looked like it had been a wandering necromancer, either found the cave and got eaten, or was thrown out by the Thalmor. Among his possessions was a book on illusion spells that Govegein threw towards Reysi, she liked illusions, some other ingredients a necromancer would have, and a strange stone. The stone was like nothing Govegein had ever seen, it was red and floated out of its case, but did not float away.

"Hey, does anyone know anything about this?" Govegein said, holding the stone out for everyone to see.

Everyone shook their heads, except for the Breton, who raised his hand, "I don't know what it is, but I know someone who should know. If you are ever in Riften, stop by the Ragged Flagon and I'll introduce you."

The sound of fighting ended and a cheer rose from outside the cave, the guards had won. The five inside the cave grew quiet, hoping that the guards would leave them alone. The sounds of footsteps faded as the guards left in search of their prey. After waiting a few minutes to make sure that all of the guards had left the area, the five exited the cave.

"So I guess that this is where we part ways." Raddin said.

The Breton hugged him and said "If you're ever in Riften, look me up." He ran off leaving Govegein wondering what looking him up meant.

The Bosmer looked around frantically, "Great now I have to look over my shoulder for the rest of my life." He quietly drifted away.

Reysi happily looked at the two warriors standing before her. "I think that before I go back to my secret lair that is located west of Falkreath, just by a little spring with black water and is marked by a black door with a skull on it, you can't miss it, what was I saying? Oh right! I'm gonna go help that wood elf not have to have such a long, scary life." She ran off singing "The music of life is silence."

"She must have been a handful," Raddin said. He could only imagine the kind of trip that the assassin and the battlemage could have had.

Govegein shrugged, "Sometimes she changed back to the docile one." It was actually rather pleasant until they reached Solitude.

The two began their trip to Riverwood.

* * *

Yet again, Govegein was left to work on his gear while Raddin played spy with the Akaviri wannabe of an innkeeper. Alvor had been using the profits from Govegein's discarded works to improve in own wares. He had a stockpile of Ebony ingots waiting as Govegein trudged up. "Feel free to use these, they are on the house." Govegein thanked him and gave him the Orichalcum armor he had been wearing.

"Every time I come here you seem to be better off, I'm glad to see profitable smithies." Govegein said, dropping some ingots into the forge.

"Well, I learn a lot from the armor you leave here. These new techniques of yours bring customers in from across Skyrim," Alvor happily said. He watched eagerly as Govegein began to shape the metal.

"I think that this will be my last lesson for you though. Ebony is the most difficult material to master, and daedric blood always warps the metal to the same shape, no matter what you do." The ebony melted and twisted in the fires.

"I'll bet that you could use the parts of dragons to make even better armor. If anyone could do it, it would be either you or that orc I keep hearing about in Whiterun. That kid seems to be giving Eorlund a run for his money." The curves of a piece of armor began to take shape.

"Hah, I knew that Udubulgud had potential." Govegein paused, "Armor made out of dragon bones and scales. It would be impressive to see a warrior in a set. The armor itself would be a testament to his prowess on the battlefield and at the forge." Adding more Ebony, Govegein went to work on other pieces of the armor.

* * *

Govegein pulled the completed work out of the forge and submerged it in water to cool it off. Raddin emerged from the inn and walked towards Govegein. "Good news, we will be able to make use of our Riften contact sooner than we thought. I have to hunt down a man named Esbern, living in the ratways beneath the city."

Govegein looked up at him and said "We leave in the morning."

* * *

**Ahh, Reysi. She turned out to be one of my favorites, tied with Ugdulub. Insert poorly drawn picture of Reysi riding werewolf Ugdulub here **

**Again, I could not think of much else to put into this chapter other than a little proofreading and the Reysi alterations.**


	13. The City of Thieves

Chapter 12- The City of Thieves

"What is the tax for?" Govegein asked suspiciously. He and Raddin had taken a carriage from Whiterun to Riften. Upon approaching the gate to the walled in city, they were approached by a guard who asked for 100 Septims from each of them.

The guard in question looked at Govegein and scoffed, "For the privilege of entering the city, of course!" Govegein could not see inside the city because it had fortifications similar to Whiterun, high walls and large gates.

"This sounds like a scam." Govegein said, staring down the guard. If it weren't for a large infestation of people like this, the Rift would actually be a nice place. It had large, picturesque forests and mountains, along with a large lake.

The guard, backing down, sighed and said, "Alright, alright, keep your voice down. Just let me unlock the gate." He was obviously new this whole extorting money process. Must have pegged the two travelers as easy marks.

As the guard walked away Govegein turned towards Raddin. "So who are we looking for here?" Raddin had refused to let loose any more information on their objective in this city. All Govegein knew was that there was someone hidden here that Delphine wanted found.

"Delphine told me that Esbern, the guy that we are looking for, would be in the Ratway and that we should talk to Brinjolf for information on his exact location."

"I hope we don't have to tear the city apart to find this Brinjolf fellow," Govegein said as they entered Riften. 100 Septims was definitely too much for the 'privilege of entering the city' the shacks that lined the roads were made of old, almost rotting wood, the roads covered in dead leaves and moss, and possibly feces. If they did have to tear Riften apart, Govegein was almost afraid to see what they would find.

"Yeah, it's not like he will just walk up to us, offering a job just because you outsmarted the guard. That would just be unrealistic," Raddin said.

"Hey!" someone shouted from the side. The two travelers looked to see a burly man in steel armor leaning on a post. "I've never seen you two before. What brings you to Riften?" A strong man, someone used for muscle and intimidation by the less legal organizations.

Raddin perked up, "Oh! We are loo-" Govegein elbowed him in the ribs. "We are just passing through . . . Ow . . ." Raddin rubbed the sore spot on his ribcage.

The man eyed them and said, "Riften isn't a town to just 'pass through'," he nodded towards a shakedown. A woman in grey leather armor was arguing with a Redguard man. He seemed to owe her a large amount of money. Govegein nodded to the man and pulled the bent over Raddin away. "Hey, I'm not done talking to you!" the large man said as the travelers disappeared.

The first place to look for someone would be the marketplace, so Govegein and Raddin walked into the circle. There was not much being sold, a jeweler, some kind of armor stall that would buy anything, and a general goods stall. As they entered the marketplace a well-dressed Nord approached them. "Feeling a little light in the pockets, lads?"

"I'm sorry?" Raddin said, confused by the newcomer's presence.

"I saw how you saw through my little scam at the gate, and I thought that you could use a little more money. The name's Brinjolf by the way," he said. The man they were looking for found them. For all they knew he might even have a job for them.

Raddin turned to Govegein "What do we do?" he whispered. "He just walked up to us, I'm not prepared for this, are you prepared for this?" He was panicking, the very event that they had dismissed as impossible had just happened.

Govegein sighed and pulled both Raddin and Brinjolf off towards an alleyway. "Hey what are you doing?" Brinjolf shouted, struggling. Some people watched, uncaring as the conman was dragged away, they figured that he was about to get what was coming to him.

"He just does this when he does not feel like explaining things," Raddin explained. This reminded him of that day in Helgen, when he and Govegein dragged the opposing soldiers away from danger.

"Does this happen often?"

"More than you would think but less than daily." Granted one would not think that this would happen normally, much less daily, but it did happen.

Behind the church Govegein dropped off the two men. "We are looking for an old man that is probably in the Ratways somewhere. Do you know anything about anyone like that?" he questioned the charismatic thief.

Brinjolf stood, brushing himself off, "Yes, there are several people in the Ratways. And, yes I may know who you mean, Esbern right? Only one I can think of anyone looking for. And I can give you a guide to him, but it will cost you."

"How much?" People like this, always looking to make a profit, were people that Govegein could deal with easily.

"5000 Septims, up front." A little steep for their current funds.

Govegein eyed the man, "1000 now, 4000 when we get back." They could always run if they didn't have the money to return.

"2000 now, 3000 after," Brinjolf countered.

"Deal," Govegein shook Brinjolf's hand and handed him a sack of coins. Govegein had pocketed about 2000 Septims from Brinjolf when he dragged him into the alleyway.

"The entrance to the Ratway is just below the market," Brinjolf said, pointing back where they came. "About halfway through it, you will find a tavern called the Ragged Flagon. That is where I will meet you with the guide. Any questions? No? Good." Govegein and Raddin walked off towards the market and the Ratway.

* * *

"These gloves are impressive, they have an enchantment that makes your punches heavier, but it doesn't work if you are holding anything." Govegein said marveling at the pair of gloves. As it turned out, there actually were many people hiding in the Ratway. Most of them were crooks and outlaws that had nowhere else to go and found themselves in the outer areas of the Ratways. Govegein and Raddin had stumbled on two bandits near the entrance and immediately cut them down. Deeper inside they found some skeevers, the large rat like things for which the sewer was named, and what appeared to be a novice drug dealer working from an alchemy lab. It was from him that Govegein had taken the gloves, before they fought him.

"Yes, I know. I paid a lot for 'em," the dealer said as he swung at Govegein. The blow did little to nothing against the armored Breton. Putting the gloves in his pocket, Govegein unsheathed his ebony sword. Its new fire enchantment glowed along the blade. He slit the man's throat, flames appearing with the blood. Sheathing his blade he and Raddin walked on towards the Ragged Flagon. One last outlaw stood in their way.

Govegein bowed and gestured forward, "After you."

"Why thank you," Raddin said entering the room. The outlaw turned from his plans and looked, astonished at the newcomer. "Hello, my name is Raddin. We can go by this one of two ways. One: you can step aside. Two: you try to kill me, fail and then I kill you. Which will it be?"

The outlaw looked at Raddin, then looked at Govegein who stood in the shadows. The adventurer in the iron helmet did not seem like much of a threat. The man in ebony armor though, he was the power house. Govegein lit a fire in his hands as he leaned in the doorway and rose it up towards hid hooded face. The light danced around his features as he wickedly smiled and said "Pick the second option."

The outlaw swallowed and turned away slowly. Govegein clapped and the man ran away screaming. As he left, the two adventurers burst into laughter. "I wish they were all that easy," Raddin said between laughs.

Starting towards the door, Govegein said "Intimidation, a classic technique."

* * *

The Ragged Flagon could barely be called a tavern. Yes there was a bar and drinks, but that was all that was there. Much of the area was covered with wooden crates. Govegein and Raddin stood on the other side of the cistern. From what they could see, there were several people around some of the tables near the bar and two who sat on a wooden platform that sat over the water. One final man, almost as big as Farkas stood in the only entrance to the bar area. He blocked the way as Govegein and Raddin attempted to enter the bar area.

"It's okay Dirge they are with me," a familiar voice said. Etienne Rarnis, the Breton that Raddin had saved from the Thalmor, nudged the large man aside. "Hey guys, I didn't think that you would take me up on my offer so fast. I'll make sure that you two are treated right."

"Are you the guide that Brinjolf offered?" Raddin asked excitedly.

"Nope this is," Brinjolf said. He appeared from the back of the tavern with a scruffy looking Khajit. They both had variations of the same armor on, upon closer inspection, so did almost everyone in the tavern. The Khajiit had black fur, was missing an eye, and was covered in scars. "This is Tar'zuk, he will be your guide."

"You can't be serious," Govegein said. The Khajit stood a little shorter than Raddin, held no weapons, and looked like he was ready to bolt at the moment's notice. At least he was more well-built than Ugdulub.

"I am, and you paid for him. Get going," Brinjolf said, pushing the three out towards the back of the tavern.

* * *

The Ratway Vaults were more of a pit. A hallway lead off to one side and appeared to go through several rooms, spiraling down towards the center. Tar'zuk motioned for Govegein and Raddin to follow, then jumped down to the next level. Raddin shocked, looked at Govegein who jumped after the cat. "You don't talk much do you?" he said to Tar'zuk. The Khajiit grimaced and jumped to the bottom floor. "Hurry up and jump, Raddin."

"I could just run through the other rooms and meet up with you." Raddin was stalling, afraid to jump.

"If I have to come up there you will wish that you had jumped." Raddin fell down next to Govegein and Tar'zuk snickered at the sight. Raddin and Govegein jumped down the last flight and the three moved on to the Ratway Warrens.

The deepest part of the Ratway, the Warrens, seemed like an abandoned prison, barred doors lined the outer hallway. Small rooms lined the inner courtyard, most of these rooms had barred doors, and stone stairs lead to the second level.

* * *

"Your man is in the room behind the steel door on the second floor," Tar'zuk said, his voice was rough and eerie, like he had lost it a few too many times. He held out his hand, waiting. Govegein dropped a pouch of coins into the expecting paw and the black Khajiit grinned. He then turned to leave, returning to the Ragged Flagon.

"I did not expect him to have that voice," Raddin said.

"Never expect anything normal out of a Khajiit," Govegein said, walking into the courtyard.

"That is racist. Or speciesist?"

"Yes, and it's true. I've only ever met one other and those were his exact words to me." They walked up the stairs. In one room a man in chef clothing sat sharpening a cooking knife. From another on the first floor, they could hear a woman listing things to herself. Down on the other side of the walkway, they saw the solid steel door. Govegein walked up to it and knocked.

A slide opened in the door and a voice called out, "Go away."

"Esbern? Open the door, I'm a friend," Raddin called out.

"What? No that's not me, I'm not Esbern. I don't know what you're talking about."

"It's okay Delphine sent him," Govegein said.

"And who sent you?"

"I sent myself, now open up this door."

"Delphine said to ask you about the 40th of Frostfall. We need your help to stop the dragons," Raddin pleaded.

"So Delphine keeps up the fight, even after all these years? You'd better come in." Esbern closed the slide and unlocked several locks on the door. Once it was finally open, Govegein and Raddin rushed inside. "I thought Delphine would have realized that it was hopeless."

"What do you mean 'hopeless'," Govegein questioned. Just how much did this man really know about the dragon wars, about Alduin?

"Alduin the world eater has risen. Of course it's hopeless. The only person who could defeat him is a Dragonborn and none have been seen for ages," Esbern explained.

"Well then, it's not hopeless, Esbern, I'm a Dragonborn," Raddin said. The fact that only he could save them seemed to fill Raddin with a newfound pride.

"You? A Dragonborn? Well, that changes everything. Just give me a moment, I need to collect some things, then we can get going, meet with Delphine and save the world," Esbern said, hurrying around the room. As Esbern collected his various accoutrements, Govegein stepped outside of the well-fortified room.

As he looked out at the room, he heard a door open. Several footsteps could be heard as two people entered the room, dragging a third. Two Altmer strode into the room, one in Thalmor robes and the other in elfish armor. The armored one held a struggling Tar'zuk by the scruff of his neck.

"Oh Esbern, we know you're in here, be a good old man and come with us," the robed one said. At the sound of the elf, the chef rose from his chair and ran towards the agent. He was promptly beheaded by a bound sword. "Don't make this messy, blood is so hard to get out of these robes."

* * *

**Aww, look at the Thalmor thinking they are so badass. I question how the empire ever lost to these nutjobs.**

**Khajit, on the other hand, are awesome, even if they are cats. Have any of you actually looked into Khajiti lore? It's pretty cool.**


	14. Escape From the Ratway

Chapter 13 - Escape From the Ratway

Govegein turned and ran back into Esbern's room. "We have company."

"I knew it, you lead the Thalmor straight to me!" Esbern shouted.

Raddin walked out of the room, "Just follow behind us, we will handle the Thalmor."

Raddin circled around the courtyard, going down the stairs, while Govegein jumped down and landed in front of the armored Altmer. Govegein drew his axe and cut the Altmer's leg, causing the startled elf to fall and release Tar'zuk. Frost grew from the gash and Tar'zuk hid in the hallway beyond. Raddin met the Justicar at the stairs, using his shield to fend off blasts of electricity. The shock spell licked at his arm through the shield. When it stopped, Raddin looked over the shield to find his adversary with a bound sword. It would take some time to recover enough magic to deal any real damage with spells, now he only had to worry about the sword.

Govegein looked at his opponent, the elf had just finished healing his leg with a spell and was getting up, two bound swords in his hands. Govegein smiled and drew his sword. Spinning the blades in his hands, Govegein sparred with his Altmer foe. Behind him, Govegein heard Raddin Shout "Feim". Raddin had turned ethereal as the Justicar's attacks passed through him. A wail sounded as Raddin's battle axe tore the high elf's chest apart. "What are you doing Govegein? Just finish him already," Raddin impatiently said.

Govegein danced around his opponent. "I was just having some fun. I haven't fought with any Aldmer in such a long time, killing one of these cheap copies is as close as I can get." He cut a quick X in the soldier's armor with his axe, the metal freezing at the touch of the blade. With his sword, he stabbed straight through the breastplate, shattering the quick-frozen metal. Govegein sighed, "It's just not the same."

"Impressive, but the Thalmor will have more troops following these two," Esbern said, "We had better start on our way." He pushed the two adventurers into the hallway.

Tar'zuk approached Govegein, "You have saved this one's life, this one is now in your debt."

"Then repay your debt by helping us out of these sewers," Govegein said, handing the Khajiit the Gloves of the Pugilist. "Take these, when you wear them, you will hit people even harder than you ever have before." Tar'zuk looked at them, then looked at his claws. He tied the gloves around his wrists, hoping the enchantment would still work. "I am going to want those back later," Govegein said. The Khajiit nodded and the four entered the Ratway Vaults.

* * *

The barred room they entered was covered in oil, and a Justicar stood, startled on the other side of the bars. Before she could light a fire spell in her hands, Tar'zuk was on her. His claws were wreathed in a red fury that was not entirely blood. The glove's enchantment worked wonders, but did not stop the Justicar's screams. The other agents ran towards their screaming comrade. Justicars lined the upper tiers and soldiers poured into the small courtyard.

"That's more like it," Govegein said, old instincts flaring. They used tactics similar to what he had seen in ages old battles. "Esbern, light the room behind us, then use it for cover when the oil runs out. Raddin, protect him and handle these foot soldiers. Tar'zuk, you're with me, we are going to take out those casters." Govegein ran past the Thalmor soldiers and into the spiraling rooms. Cutting down the occasional soldier and atronach, he weaved through the rooms. Finally he made it to the first landing.

Checking on his companions, Tar'zuk was right behind him and Esbern was inside the barred room, burning anyone who got too close. It seemed that Esbern had also conjured a Flame Atronach to help him and provide cover fire, literally, for Raddin. Raddin was holding his own with the Thalmor, blasting some away with his voice as he focused on others. What Raddin lacked in battle prowess he made up for with his Thu'um.

Turning back towards his targets, Govegein smiled at the startled Justicars. They hadn't planned on someone running past their troops to fight with the mages. They had barely even planned on the Dragonborn defeating their advance team. The pride of the Aldmer had been passed down to the Altmer. Tar'zuk cut through Justicars left and right, his enchanted claws tearing through cloth and flesh alike. Govegein tore the survivors in his own way. Frost crept from gashes left by the war axe while fire ate at the flesh cut by Govegein's sword. The two danced through the scene of fire, ice, and blood.

"You're stance is reminiscent of the Whispering Fang technique," Govegein said, decapitating another Justicar.

"Oh, you know the Whispering Fang?" Tar'zuk said in surprise.

"I saw it as a child, I have a knack for fighting styles." He waved Tar'zuk over and they picked up a dazed Justicar. The two carried him over to the ledge and begun to swing him. As Raddin knocked back another soldier, Govegein and Tar'zuk threw the Justicar to the lower level. The dazed Altmer fell on top of the soldier who was knocked back. "What are you doing Raddin? Just finish them already." Tar'zuk snickered at the comment.

"Why don't you try fighting off this many people at once?" Raddin shouted from below.

"I have, it's not that difficult." In fact he had killed more than that in an instant. Sure he still had access to insanely destructive magic then, but the fact still stands.

"He's right, even with my support, this is taking a while," Esbern said from behind bars.

"You too Esbern, really?" Raddin complained as he finished off the last soldier.

* * *

Govegein looked down from his perch, "That should be the last of them, let's go back to the Ragged Flagon." Raddin and Esbern walked through the doorway below Govegein. A few moments later, they joined him and Tar'zuk. The four moved through the winding passageway back to the underground tavern.

The four ragtag adventurers were met with stares of disbelief as they entered the bar area. "You lads actually made it back alive?" Brinjolf said.

"We took bets after those Thalmor thugs pushed their way through here," a blond Nord woman said. She tossed a small pouch of coins towards Etienne.

A bald man sitting across from her said, "How in Oblivion did you make it out of there? These two must be blessed by Nocturnal or something to be that lucky." He waved his hands in the air for emphasis then tossed another pouch towards Etienne.

"Truth be told, lads, I thought ol' Tarz here would stab you in the back and rob you blind," Brinjolf said. He laughed as he tossed a rather large gold pouch towards Etienne.

The Breton smiled, pulling in his loot, "You've just never seen these two in a fight."

Govegein pushed Raddin and Esbern out of the Tavern as the thieves laughed. He turned around and took the gloves from Tar'zuk, Brinjolf's sword, Dirge's boots, and various other items from the other guild members. Before they could react to this heavily armored thief, Govegein took the large sack of coins that Brinjolf had bet and fled the tavern. "Thieves should keep better track of their loot, don't you think?" He said, sprinting away. Laughter rose up from Etienne and Tar'zuk as Govegein entered the Ratway.

* * *

Affraba paced up and down the dock. She shifted the knife from one hand to the other. The Thalmor had been very persuasive when they picked her up for the job. They needed someone who looked inconspicuous, but would not be questioned. A Khajiit in Skyrim was perfect, if she got caught no one would bat an eye.

The Thalmor came in the middle of the night, killed the guards and taken the merchants. When she awoke, Affraba was tied to a chair in a dark room. Across from her stood a Thalmor Justicar, fire dancing through his fingers. He offered her a deal, kill whenever and whoever they asked, or end up like the others. Torches lit, illuminating the gruesome scene around her.

Affraba's whiskers twitched at the memories. That was a long time ago, she had pulled off several assassinations for the elves, and this one would be no different. She only had to kill the man who came out of the Ratway. Everything was going smoothly she only had to wait. Then three men came out of the door. The first was in studded armor with an iron helmet, he seemed to be a small threat but no one for the Thalmor to send a kill order on. The second was in miner's cloths, no threat there. The third stood in gleaming black armor and held various random items, this must be the target, rich enough to be an annoyance, but dumb enough to not need a professional assassin.

The Khajiit moved towards the three, knife shining in the sun.

* * *

Stepping out of the Ratway, Govegein saw a Khajiit woman pacing the docks. She was watching him and his companions, a steel knife shifted in her hands. She moved towards him the knife moving for his chest. He tossed his pile of stolen thief gear at her, stunning the cat. He then knocked her out by hitting the back of her head.

"Probably hired by the Thalmor to kill one of us, have either of you angered any high ranking agents?" Esbern said.

Raddin shifted. "Yeah she was probably sent for me. I really embarrassed Elenwen at her party," he said looking at the ground.

"What did you do?" Govegein asked while he tied the assassin's hands and feet.

"I don't want to talk about it. What are you doing?"

"No one tries to kill me unscathed," Govegein said, hoisting the Khajiit by her feet. He hung her over the water.

"You are the most evil person that I have ever met," Esbern said. They left the woman and the city of thieves behind as the trio set off for Riverwood.

* * *

**The Day will soon be upon us, the stars are aligning and the portal will soon open. In three days I will go, but I shall return. Unspeakable horrors await me, yet I will prevail.**

**Anyway, I'm thinking of some bigger changes for the latter half of the story which will result in even larger changes down the road. We'll see how this goes.**


	15. Refuge of the Sky

Chapter 14 – Refuge of the Sky

"I still don't think that that makes him evil," Raddin told Esbern. They had been debating over Govegein's treatment of the Khajit assassin ever since the three left Riften. Esbern and Raddin had argued through the night as they passed through the ruins of Helgen. "He left her alive didn't he?"

"Yes and in that act he proves his nature. Your friend here left the poor girl hanging upside down over the water after a failed mission for the Thalmor," Esbern explained. He had been pushing the subject the entire time without actually stating why. Govegein tuned out most of the argument because it was just a back and forth of 'is's and 'is not's.

"She could easily get herself down. Although that would involve a quick swim," Govegein supplied. He figured Khajit would not like getting their fur too wet, judging from the cats they so resemble.

Esbern sighed, rubbing his temples. "You're missing the point," Esbern said. It was like neither of them knew what kind of things the Thalmor could and would do to a person. Neither of them had seen the horrors he had, but the Thalmor should still be steeped in a stigma of pain.

"Then explain it, old man!" Raddin shouted. He was beginning to get fed up with the argument.

Esbern sighed. "What do you think the Thalmor would do to a Khajiit who failed her mission to clean up loose ends if their team could not?"

"Shave her," Govegein said. He didn't expect much out of the Altmer, ever, he expected even their punishments to be lackluster at best.

"Torture her?" Raddin tried. Judging from what he had seen in the embassy, Raddin wouldn't put it past them to torture a random passerby.

"Sometimes both. They could pluck out every fiber of hair on her body if they wanted to. Being left to the Thalmor is the worst fate someone could have, especially after disappointing them," Esbern concluded. The trio had just arrived at River wood.

As Raddin lead Esbern to the Sleeping Giant, Govegein sat outside Alvor's house. Seeing the other smith, Alvor walked up behind him. "What are you doing this time?" he asked, trying to make conversation.

"Trying to imagine a bald Khajiit," Govegein said, rubbing the bridge of his nose.

"Bald as in the top of the head or completely furless?"

"Completely furless."

"That is going to give me nightmares . . . thanks," Alvor said, shaking his head.

"I'm just trying to give good old Vaermina a helping hand," Govegein said sarcastically.

"How about helping me instead? You've got a real talent for molding metals," Alvor offered.

"Okay, what do you have in mind this time?" Govegein said, getting up from his seat. The two worked for some time, making some requested armors before Govegein saw Raddin waving him over. "Sorry Alvor, but I've got some places to go and people to kill."

* * *

"I still don't want him accompanying us on this," Delphine said.

"What's the harm? We all know that he has no ties to the Thalmor and he is good in a fight," Esbern said.

Govegein smiled as he and Raddin entered the conversation. "Plus he's handsome, brilliant, humble, and loves these types of hush-hush adventures." They had hiked across Whiterun Hold the day before and stopped for a night in Rorikstead. Govegein and Raddin had drinks with Sam and Aidain, a Nord and Dunmer that had traveled from Windhelm for a party. The last Govegein saw of them, they were stealing a sheep for a wedding, or something.

The next day they had set out for Karthspire. They found Delphine and Esbern spying on a camp of barbarians. "Those are the Forsworn," Delphine explained, "Bretons who are native to the Reach and want to reclaim it."

"They seem like nice people," Govegein said. He could see a forge burning atop a nearby cliff, and scaffolding leading down to a kind of village built above a river.

"They also often worship Hagravens, and are called the madmen of the Reach."

"So are we going to Karthspire or are we going to sit here for a few days?" Raddin intervened.

"Those Foresworn are camped outside of the entrance, to get to the Temple we have to go through them," Esbern said.

A harsh cry sounded through the mountains. The ground shuddered as the wings beat down and a dragon flew overhead. "He should open up a way for us," Govegein said. It was a frost dragon, specialized in frost breath attacks and almost looked like a white Alduin, if one was to squint.

"You want to use a dragon to clear away the Forsworn?" Delphine asked, dumbfounded.

"He is going to do it anyway, I'm just saying that we should use the confusion to slip through. Or we could let him raze the camp and then fight him as he lands for a meal." Neither Delphine nor Esbern moved, Raddin looked too terrified to try to sneak through a raging battle. Govegein sighed, "Or, if you really want to waste the effort, we could just kill them all at once."

"Do you have a way to do that?" Delphine asked.

"Why am I the only person coming up with ideas? Fine, we'll do it the simple way and just kill them all." Before anyone could argue, Govegein ran into the camp. As much as he hated to waste his time with these fools, he missed this. The adrenaline of a battle, cutting apart unsuspecting foes, even the sting of their weapons and spells as they caught on. As he decapitated his fifth Foresworn, he noticed Delphine Esbern and Raddin entering the fray.

"Dovahkiin," the Dragon whispered. It swooped down, swallowing another barbarian as it did. It spotted Raddin's horned helmet and began to shout frost at him just as a blast of fire stole its attention. Govegein stood atop a ledge across the river, surrounded by fallen Forsworn and fire in his hands. He jumped towards the dragon and caught it when it tried to dodge. He held on to the dragon's spines as it tried to throw him off. The dragon took a nose dive and crashed into the ground, but the time-lost warrior still clung to its back.

Only then did the dragon notice the Dragonborn approaching him. Govegein let go of the dragon and tore apart its wing skin. The dragon could no longer take flight, so it began to fight. Icy gales escaped its mouth as it screamed in rage. Raddin ran through the ice, hidden behind his frosting shield. He jumped onto the dragon's head and began to cut at its armored skull. After a few cuts, Raddin swung the sword back and pierced it into the dragon's eye. The mighty beast crumbled as Raddin got off, its flesh evaporating. Raddin walked away, the soul sucked into his body. Govegein nodded and the four dragon-slayers entered the mountain.

* * *

"This is why I hated the Akaviri as a people, they always got carried away with their security," Govegein said. "They have amazing crafting and fighting styles, but they take traps way too far." They stood watching Raddin make his way across the floor. The ground was lined with tiles, if someone were to step on the wrong one, they would be filled with poison darts. Raddin wove through the room, trying to pull the chain that would disarm the trap.

"What would you know about the Akaviri?" Esbern asked Delphine shot a glare that would stun a dragon at him. Govegein met a few refugees of the islands of Akavir, the beastmen had all but eaten most of the human civilization there. Fending off those vicious predators would result in an impressive defense system, but not one strong enough it seemed.

Govegein thought back to his days as a general in the Dragon Armies. "Far more than most people these days." Raddin whooped as he pulled the chain and ran to the exit.

At the top of the path way, the four adventurers met an open topped cavern. Sunlight poured in, highlighting the blood-seal on the floor. Beyond that, a massive face was carved into the rock, surrounded by shadows. "Looks like we have to use the blood-seal to move forward," Govegein said.

"What is a blood-seal?" Raddin asked.

"A blood-seal is a type of mechanism that only opens to a specific kind of blood," Esbern said. "There are many variations of these from just any blood to only one person. This one is probably attuned to the blood of a Dragonborn."

Raddin sighed and took a knife out from his belt. Kneeling on the seal, he pricked his finger and squeezed a few drops onto it. Nothing happened. "The amount of blood also differs, but usually you need more than a few drops. Don't be a milk-drinker, open a huge gash," Govegein said. Raddin swallowed and put the blade to his palm. The blood splattered onto the seal and it sprung to life. The rings glowed as they spun, unlocking ancient mechanisms. The carved face shuddered and rose, revealing the entrance to the temple.

"Welcome to Skyhaven Temple," Esbern said as he walked inside.

"You're lucky that you are getting to see this place," Delphine told Govegein as she flowed Esbern inside.

Raddin sat curled up on the floor. "You've had worse wounds than that scratch."

"I think I used an enchanted knife, it burns," Raddin whimpered.

"You did not use an enchanted knife," Govegein said. He shot a wave of restoration magic at Raddin. With the small wound closed, Raddin got up to his feet. "Are you ready to move on, milk-drinker?"

"People need to stop insulting you on the road." Govegein had picked up the insult after an Orc challenged him to a duel.

"You think that the ebony armor would warn them."

"You would think that the dried blood would," Raddin said, entering the temple. Govegein laughed and followed. They found Esbern examining a wall. "Is that it?" Raddin asked.

"Yes this is Alduin's wall. So much information is stored here. Look these must be the Tongues, ancient masters of the voice. The symbol leaving their mouths is Akaviri for shout. They defeated Alduin with a shout. Amazing!" Esbern said. He was glued to the wall.

"I could have told you that," Govegein scoffed as he wandered the hall.

"What?" Delphine growled.

"I said that I know how Alduin was defeated, and most of why he is back," Govegein said offhandedly.

"You mean to tell me that all of the questions we spent weeks trying to figure out you knew the answers to? Why did you not tell any of us?" Delphine shouted at him.

"None of you asked," Govegein said simply.

"So what shout did the Tongues use?" Raddin asked.

"They never told me."

"You knew them?" Esbern asked. "What were they like?"

"You would get along well with Feldir, swapping stories and myths," Govegein said.

"How about why Alduin is here? You said that you figured that out right?" Delphine said. She was slumped over the table, the answer to all of her questions was fooling around with the forge across the street the entire time.

"Same reason I'm here actually. I was a Priest in the Dragon cult, not technically one of the High Priests, but not just a normal priest either. The Cult and I had a few disagreements after Alduin was defeated and I was sentenced to share his fate. We got pushed outside of this timeline, falling back in after a few eras. I seem to have returned a few hours earlier despite having been exiled later than him. Does that answer your question?" Govegein explained.

"How were you exiled?" Esbern asked. He had moved away from the wall and now followed Govegein as he examined the hall. This was all so outlandish, yet it made a kind of sense, why Alduin did nothing between the war and now, why this traveler knew so much and yet so little.

"They used an Elderscroll, I don't know what they did with it though."

Delphine walked off to blow off some steam and Raddin sat at the long table. "What kind of priest were you? Did you worship a specific dragon?" Raddin asked. He had been wondering these things since he made Govegein tell him about his past.

"I guess you deserve to know by now," Govegein said sitting across from Raddin. "I was not the kind of conventional priest that you are thinking of. Most priests did worship the dragons, but only the High Priests ever interacted with them more than a few times, and myself but that was for other reasons. As a Priest I wandered Skyrim, capturing or destroying settlements that held refugees from the wars in the name of the Cult. I was a close friend to most of the High Priests and even crafted their masks to complement their powers."

"Amazing, you are the window into the mythic era that most scholars would kill for," Esbern marveled. This man held answers to questions that scholars didn't even know to ask. Tales of wars long forgotten, ancient rituals, just about anything from that time period that one could ask for.

"Back to the matter at hand," Delphine said, returning to the room. She held a strange sword in her hands and tossed it to Raddin, who fumbled to catch it. "That sword is Dragonbane, you can guess what it does. How can we find the shout that will defeat Alduin?"

"The Greybeards!" Raddin shouted, standing up. "They know just about every shout, they have to know."

"I was afraid of that. The Blades and the Greybeards disagree on the role of the Dragonborn, their 'Way of the Voice' conflicts with killing dragons," Delphine said. _ She has probably fought with them before_ Govegein thought.

"Either way they are our only lead," Raddin said, tying Dragonbane to his hip. "Back to High Hrothgar."

"This time you are fighting the Frost Troll," Govegein said as they left Skyhaven Temple.

* * *

**I'm running out of things to say at these parts sooooo . . . . . . . yeah.**

**STORY! READ IT! IT'S HAPPENING!**


	16. Paarthunax

Chapter 15- Paarthunax

"You were not joking when you said those things were tough," Raddin said. He stood over the corpse of a Frost Troll that he and Govegein met on their way up the 7000 Steps.

"They are easier to deal with if you can set them on fire. They burn easily and it helps with that pesky regeneration of theirs," Govegein said. They walked on, past the Troll Den and stopped to look at one of the tablets that lined the pathway. "Has anyone actually counted these steps? There don't seem to be 7000," Govegein said, scratching his chin.

"I don't know. Maybe the name refers to the average amount of steps a person has to take from Ivarstead to High Hrothgar. Or maybe there are 7000 steps to a pilgrimage for someone who wants to become a greybeard," Raddin theorized. They walked on, passing Katria on her seemingly endless pilgrimage. "What do you call a female Greybeard?" Raddin aked.

Govegein looked at him and said "Greybeard?"

"But women can't grow beards."

"They did in my time. Have you ever noticed a female Draugr with a beard? Imagine that when it was alive," Govegein shuddered at the memories. Walking up to a girl, then she turns around and has a beard that would put Stendarr to shame. They walked in awkward silence until they reached the doors of High Hrothgar.

Govegein walked up to the door and said, "I can handle this."

Raddin looked sacred and said, "Uhh, maybe I should-"

Govegein kicked open the doors and shouted "We know you know the shout to defeat Alduin, teach it to Raddin."

"Fus Ro Dah!" the shockwave barreled through the hall and blasted Govegein out of High Hrothgar. Arngeir walked out to greet Raddin. "Hello Dovahkiin. What is this about a shout?" Govegein pulled himself out of the snow. They walked inside the castle, careful to not disturb any of the other Greybeards in their meditation.

"We- I need to learn the shout that was used to defeat Alduin," Raddin said.

"That shout is not a part of the Way of the Voice, we refuse to know it and I will not let you know it," Arngeir obstinately said. Delphine was right, they were probably opposed to dragon slaying in general.

"Arngeir, Rok los Dovahkiin, Strundu'ul. Rok fen tinvaak Paarthurnax." The words shook the stone castle.

Arngeir scowled. "I am sorry, Master Einarth has seen it fit that you should meet with our master. I still do not believe that you are ready yet, but time is of the essence. Follow me, I will show you the way," Arngeir sighed. Govegein stood frozen in place, a huge grin on his face. "What is wrong with him?" Arngeir asked.

"I don't know. This is the first time that I have ever seen him like this," Raddin said. He reached out to Govegein, who at the movement spurred into life.

"Paarthunax is alive?" he said, racing to the back courtyard. Once outside, he spun around, looking for traces of Paarthunax. He couldn't believe it. That Paarthunax had even made it to this time was a feat in and of itself, but to think that he had gained another following.

Entering the courtyard, Raddin asked, "So who is Paarthunax?"

"Paarthunax is the master of the Greybeards. He resides on the peak of the mountain," Arngeir said, followed by the other three Greybeards. This prompted Govegein to sprint through the archway to the path up the mountain, only to be blown back by the ice and wind. "Which is only accessible through the Thu'um." Arngeir finished.

"He is also an old friend of mine, I thought that he would be long dead by now," Govegein said, brushing himself off.

"Lok, Vah, Koor," Arngier said in the dragon language. The words appeared, burned into the stone. As Raddin walked up to them, Arngeir said, "This is our final gift to you, Dovahkiin." He bowed as he passed the knowledge of the shout into Raddin.

Raddin turned towards the archway and shouted, "Lok Vah Koor," blasting away the impeding snowstorm. He and Govegein began the climb up to the Throat of the World, and Paarthunax.

* * *

The mountain climbing experience was rather uneventful. Compared to other trips that Raddin and Govegein had taken, one or two Ice Wraiths and a Troll was nothing. As they neared the peak of the tallest mountain in Skyrim, Raddin asked Govegein, "So what kind of person is Paarthunax?"

"He loves to have long conversations. He'll cover almost any topic, but philosophy is his favorite subject. If he gets started on some 'bigger story' kinds of questions, just bring him back to the topic at hand," Govegein explained. He was excited to see Paarthunax again. While it had only felt like a few months to Govegein, it must have been an eternity for Paarthunax.

"How did he survive this log? I mean you come from the Mythic Era, how can he still be alive?" Raddin pressed. Raddin didn't know yet, so this was going to be an eventful reunion.

As they approached the final wall of icy winds govegein turned to Raddin. "You'll see. You go in first, I'll talk to him after," he said, pulling his hood deep over his face.

"If you say so. Lok Vah Koor," Raddin shouted, opening up the way to Paarthunax. He walked up the path, followed by Govegein, and found an open ledge. A Word Wall on one side and the peak on the other. "There is nothing here." Govegein chuckled and a dragon roared. Raddin readied his Battleaxe as the dragon flew up the mountain. Its wings were torn and tattered and it landed with a thud in front of Raddin. The dragon had seen better days, its horns were cracked and its scales were disheveled and out of place.

The Dragon coughed and said. "Drem yol lok. Greetings, wuundinik. I am Paarthunax. Who are you? What brings you to my strunmah . . . my mountain?" This was probably his first visitor in years, and he was excited to see that it was some new blood at that.

"He's a dragon?" Raddin shouted, turning to Govegein. Govegein turned the cowering Nord around to face the ancient beast. "H-hello. My name is Raddin, I'm the Dragonborn, please don't kill me. I-I came f-for the shout to defeat Alduin."

"Drem. Patience. There are formalities which must be observed, at the first meeting of two dov. By long tradition, the elder speaks first. Hear my Thu'um, feel it in your bones. Match it if you are Dovahkiin," Paarthunax turned away from his guests. Facing the Word Wall, he opened his mouth, and with a barely audible "Yol Toor Shul," he spat out a massive gout of fire. When the fire died, a word was shown, burned into the stone. Raddin approached the new word and absorbed it. "A gift, Dovahkiin, Yol. Understand fire as the dov do."

The knowledge shot out of Paarthunax as the said these words. With a new found strength, Raddin shouted, "Yol." A blast of fire leapt from his mouth and on to Paarthunax.

"Ahh . . . yes! Sossedov los mul. The dragonblood runs strong in you. It is long since I've had the pleasure of speech with my own kind." Parrthunax swayed with each word, lost in memories of old. "The shout you are looking for is called Dragonrend. I do not know it, it cannot be known by the Dovah, as it was made by man. Our hadrimme, our minds cannot even . . . comprehend its concepts."

"How can I learn it, then?"

"Drem. All in good time. First, a question for you. Why do you want to learn this Thu'um?" Paarthunax asked.

"Because we like this world," Govegein interrupted. "I certainly don't want to see it end." Paarthunax turned in surprise.

"Beimiir?" he would know the boy's voice anywhere even after the centuries had passed. "Is that you? I thought those Priests killed you," Paarthunax said.

"How many times have I told you not to call me that anymore?" Govegein had cast out that name when he became a priest, as was tradition. "Especially now, even my name has been stripped from me, erased from history as it would seem. I am an outcast, Govegein."

"It shames me to call one so close that. But what if it is simply time for this world to end?" Paarthunax began to circle the man he thought lost to the dead. "Some would say that all things must end, so that the next could come to pass. Perhaps this world is simply the Egg of the next kalpa? Lein vokiin? Would you stop the next world from being born?"

Raddin answered this time. "The next world will just have to fend for itself."

"Paaz, good answer. Ro fus . . . maybe you only balance the forces that work to quicken the end of this world. Even we who ride the currents of Time cannot see past Time's end. Wuldsetiid los tahrodiis. Those who work to hasten the end, may delay it. Those who work to delay the end, may bring it closer.

"But you have indulged my weakness for speech long enough. Krosis. Now I will answer your question. Do you know why I live here, at the peak of the Monahven – what you name the Throat of the World?" As Govegein opened his mouth, Paarthunax said, "Let the Dovahkiin answer."

"No. Dragons like mountains right?" Raddin guessed. Govegein began to laugh at the shot in the dark.

"True. But few now remember that this is the very spot where Alduin was defeated by the ancient Tongues. Vahrukt unslaad . . . perhaps none but me remember how he was defeated." Paarthunax explained.

"Actually, Govegein already told us the basics of what happened. The Tongues defeated Alduin, but for some reason, they could not finish him, so they used an Elder Scroll to push him out of time," Raddin confidently explained. "But how does any of this help us?"

Paarthunax, annoyed that he did not get to explain this, said,"Tiid krent. Time was . . . shattered here because of what the ancient Nords did to Alduin. If you brought that Kel, that Elder Scroll back here . . . to the Tiid-Ahraan, the Time-Wound . . . with the Elder Scroll that was used to break Time, you may be able to . . . cast yourself back. To the other end of the break. You could learn Dragonrend from those who created it."

"Great, now how are we supposed to find an Elder Scroll?" Raddin exclaimed.

"Do you remember that mage, Farengar? He was trying to get me to go to a College in a place called . . . what was it, Winterhold, I think. Maybe the mages there would know how to get onto the trail of one. And they might be able to help me with my magic problem, or you with your dream adventures," Govegein said.

"It sounds like as good a place as any to try. What do you mean 'dream adventures'?" Raddin asked. He still had no memories of the ravings of blood and meat that happen whenever he went to sleep.

"Goodbye Paarthunax, I will have a good conversation with you at a later date. When the world is not ending perhaps," Govegein said as they left.

"How do you know him anyway?" Raddin asked.

"Paarthunax was the one who found me in a village that he destroyed," Govegein said simply. Paarthunax had told him that when he saw the baby, he could not bring himself to kill it. So, he brought the infant to a couple who had trouble with mating. Paarthunax had returned several times to see the boy as he grew up. "This time, let's take a carriage to the city, it will cut our travel time immensely."

* * *

**Tonight the march begins, I must be off. We shall reconvene on the second day of the moon.**


	17. The College

Chapter 16- The College

Snow blew around them in the storm. A carriage took two passengers up the snowy slope. As it reached the top of a ridge, the carriage stopped. "Alright, this is as far as I am going to take you," the carriage driver said. The passengers hopped out of the back of the vehicle. "Be careful around those mages, they are a suspicious lot. I heard that they caused the great collapse." The driver rode away, snow quickly obscured the carriage as its passengers turned to walk down the road.

One of the travelers pulled his cloak tighter as the wind blew around him. Govegein never really liked the cold. "What did he mean 'collapse'?" Govegein asked. This was the first he had heard of this. Before his banishment, a small village of magic users had begun to take root around the ruins of Saarthal, building something there, but he knew nothing of what had happened to them since.

The cold did not seem to bother Raddin much, his Nordic blood resisting the ice and snow. "I think that you will find out soon enough," Raddin replied. After a few minutes of walking, the snowstorm let up, showing the travelers their first sight of Winterhold. It was even more run down than Riften. There were two standing houses, an inn, and a small Jarl's Longhouse, along with ruins of abandoned households dotting the area. Behind it all, on a towering island was a massive stone castle. An old stone bridge lead down from it to the mainland, ending in a gateway.

"I could have sworn that there was more land in this area," Govegein said, marveling at the stone keep that stood, stalwartly on its lone plateau. Between the keep and the village, the land just dropped away. Winterhold was perched on a high cliff, the Sea of Ghosts lapping against it.

"About a century ago, something happened with the Sea of Ghosts, destroying most of Winterhold. The city never recovered," Raddin said, passing Govegein. As they walked through the town, Govegein overheard a woman, apparently a shopkeeper, arguing with a man, probably her brother. The man walked away towards the inn, presumably for some ale.

Crossing the town, the travelers walked up the steps to the bridge. "What do you mean I need to pay for it?" a young voice wailed ahead of them. Govegein saw two Altmer women talking to each other. One, taller and older with her hair pulled into two knots on her head, blocked the way of the other. The other Altmer was short and bundled in a multitude of furs.

"Yes, I can't just teach you the spell, you need to pay me for it. Or you could try convincing a court wizard," the older Altmer said. One was apparently offering to teach the other, but only for a fee. From far away, the small Altmer's furs seemed like old rags, but upon closer inspection, Govegein could tell that they were once, quite possible recently, extremely fine and expensive.

"B-but," the little one stammered. "I spent my last septim getting here, I have nothing left. If you just teach me the spell I could show you that I will make a grand addition to the College." She pleaded with the guard, but the older Altmer did not falter.

"Hello, sorry to intrude, but could my friend and I get into the College?" Raddin said.

"No. The gates will only open for a recognized member of the College, and none of you are members," the guard said. After a pause she added, "Yet. You need to show proficiency in a spell of my choice before I can let any of you enter."

"Could you let the Dragonborn pass?" Raddin tried.

"Maybe. If said Dragonborn could show me a shout, but-" she was cut off by a blast of fire escaping from Raddin's mouth. "You may pass," Raddin and Govegein stepped forward, "but not you." The Altmer barred Govegein from proceeding.

"Is it enough that I am a temporal anomaly? My magika reserves have been altered and I can't cast as well as I used to." Govegein said. The woman looked him over with a discerning eye. Govegein let some of his magika flow to give her a demonstration of what he meant.

The older Altmer looked puzzled, she had never seen such a way of using magic. It seemed brutal and simple, yet would not flow as even she could tell it should. "I am not an expert in that kind of magic, but I can tell that you are missing something," the woman said. She thought for a moment. "I'll let you pass, but you will not be a student. Not yet at least."

Govegein moved past the guard. He looked back to the little Altmer, tears began to well up in her golden eyes. "What about her?" He looked into her and saw a great well of magic, and something else. Something familiar. It looked back at him and he stopped his examination.

"She cannot cast even the simplest of spells, I can't let her pass," the guard sighed. She did not want to deal with the young elf any more, even if she did have some potential, she didn't seem to know of it, or how to use it. Regardless, she didn't have any gold to pay for a spell.

"What if I teach her something? Something so amazing that, if used correctly, could even take down a dragon."

"Then I might make an exception, if she can perform such a spell." Govegein smiled and pulled out a blank book. Quickly writing down the concept of the spell and the ways to make magika course through the user's body. He handed the girl the new spell tome and ran across the bridge to catch up to Raddin.

"That was unexpectedly nice of you. Usually you would ask for money," Raddin said.

"I have many reasons for what I do," Govegein said as the gates opened for them. The ground shook a little as the aspiring spell caster was shot into the air in a blast of fire. "She will be fine."

* * *

As Govegein and Raddin turned up the stair case, they heard screaming and a sick popping sound. "I told you several times what would happen if you ruined one of my books," an angry Orismer man shouted. What Govegein saw made Raddin vomit, two Storm Atronauchs held a man by his arms and legs and were pulling. The Orismer stood angrily behind a desk, what may have once been a book lay in front of him. "Look at this, this was one of my most prized books." The poor man screamed as the Atronauchs pulled him into Oblivion. "That was my worst assistant in decades," the Orc grumbled.

"Urag, what have I told you about killing your assistants?" a Dunmer said as he entered from the floor above. He wore some heavily enchanted, fur-lined robes that denoted a mage of high caliber. "I could hear the screaming from my quarters, which are enchanted to block sound." He then noticed the two newcomers. "Oh hello there, I'm sorry that you had to see that. I am Savos Aren, the Arch-Mage," Savos took Govegein's hand in his and shook it. He looked closer at Govegein and shook his head, "I'm sorry, Urag here will help you with whatever you need. I have to speak with Phinis about retrieving a body from Oblivion, again."

Urag came out from behind his desk. "Ah, I guess you have seen what I do to people who harm my books. What can I help you with? You, clean up that mess," he said pointing at Raddin. Raddin burned away the remnants of his former stomach contents with a shout. The then proceeded to wipe away the ashes. He was beginning to rely more on his shouts, Govegein noted.

"As you can see, my companion here is the Dragonborn. We are looking for an Elder Scroll to look into the past so he can learn a Shout lost to time," Govegein explained. "Is there anyone here who could point us in the right direction? If not then is there anyone here who excels in the study of dreams? Or studies the change in magic over time?"

Urag burst into laughter that almost shook the building. After his fit was over, "An Elder Scroll? Do you two even know what you are looking for? If you really want me to, I could pull out some books that mention Elder Scrolls. Otherwise see Drevis about your dreams, I think that he did something with those recently. And there probably won't be even a paper or two on how magic changes, no one has lived long enough for it to be a problem for them." Urag wandered around the room a little, pulling books out of shelves here and there. Dropping a small pile on his desk, he said "This is everything that we have on the subject of Elder Scrolls. Have fun."

Govegein took the books to a nearby table where he and Raddin began to look through them. After finishing his third book without any useful information, only reports about vampires looking for scrolls, Govegein noticed that Raddin was still staring at his first book. It was a small green book titled 'Ruminations on the Elder Scrolls'.

Looking up, Raddin asked, "Govegein, do you know if absorbing dragon souls impairs the ability to read non-draconic languages?"

"It shouldn't, why?" Raddin handed the book to Govegein. It was incoherent, words or phrases that separately made sense, but when tied together as they were made the ramblings of a madman. "Imagine living beneath the waves," Govegein read aloud. "With a strong-sighted blessing of most excellent fabric. Holding the fabric over your gills, you would begin to breathe-drink its warp and weft. Though the plantmatter fibers imbue your soul, the wretched plankton would pollute the cloth until it stank to heavens of prophecy. This is one manner in which the Scrolls first came to pass, but are we the sea, or the breather, or the fabric? Or are we the breath itself?"

Govegein walked back to the desk, taking note of the copy of 'The Lusty Argonian Maid' that Urag hid. "This book is gibberish, but I think that it might be on to something. Who wrote it?"

"That was written by Septimus Signus. He worked here until recently, but now he is in some cave to the north. He became obsessed with some Dwemer artifact he found there." Urag said.

"Thank you. Raddin, we are leaving," Govegein said. Looking up from a book, Raddin shot a questioning glance. "We're going to find a madman."

* * *

"Remind me again why we have to go into a small hole in an iceberg floating in the middle of nowhere." Raddin said, rubbing his arms for warmth.

Govegein opened the small wooden door embedded into the ice. "We are doing this because in this iceberg lies our only lead to an Elder Scroll." He then jumped down the hole.

"Okay. Why, then, did we have to swim here?" Raddin shouted before following Govegein down the hole. The inside of the iceberg was, as Govegein had guessed, wet and cold. Not habitable by any means in his opinion. This artifact must surely be amazing to warrant such an environment, he thought to himself. Passing through the short, makeshift hallway, the adventurers found themselves in a tall room. The pathway spiraled down one side, leading to the floor of the cave.

On the other side of the room was a large metal cube. Each of the visible corners showed gears, as if they fit together with something larger than the cube itself. The face of the cube was adorned with several rings tangled around three crystal spheres. Roaming the floor in front of the cube was an old man in blue robes. He was muttering to himself.

Raddin approached him. "Hello, are you Septimus Signus?" Raddin asked.

"Yes, that is what the mortals call me. And the Deadra. And most Horkers," the old man answered. He went back to his mutterings, forgetting about his two visitors.

"We were hoping that you could tell us what you know about Elder Scrolls."

Septimus stopped muttering. "Elder Scrolls? Y-yes, yes that could work, but I can't get to it." Noticing the two adventurers as if for the first time he said, "You there, can I employ your services to retrieve some information for me?"

"Yes, that is what we came to you for. You know where a certain Elder Scroll is, and we will help you if you can point us towards it," Govegein said.

"Ah, but one block lifts the other. Septimus will give what you want, but you must bring him something in return. Go to Alftland, the point of puncture. In the depths of Blackreach one yet lies, an Elder Scroll. But not all can enter. Two things I have for you. Two shapes. One edged, one round. The round one for tuning. Dwemer music is soft and subtle, and needed to open their cleverest gates. The edged lexicon, for enscribing. To us, but a hunk of metal. To the Dwemer, a full library of knowings. But . . . empty. Find Mzark and its sky-dome. The machinations there will read the scroll and lay the lore upon the cube. Trust Septimus. He knows you can know."

Raddin stood, astonished. "Blackreach? I thought that that was a myth. I have been to the Tower of Mzark, but there is no way to open it from outside the building. I think that it is enchanted or something because no magic can penetrate it and anything that passes through the bars turns to dust." He looked excited. "I have always been fascinated by the Dwemer. I was actually in the process of touring between some of the larger ruins when I encountered some bandits. A few weeks later, I found a troop of travelling Stormcloaks and, well you know the rest."

Govegein made his way out of the frozen cave. "I never thought that you would have such an interest. I've never been overly keen on the Dwemer, but that happens when each and every one that you have met attempts to kill you. How have their great cities held in the eons that I have been gone?"

Raddin looked at the ground and rubbed the back of his head. "Well, I haven't actually been inside one yet. I would get nervous when I thought of the Dwemer Automatons. Not to mention the possibility of finding Falmer, do you know what those monsters do to people?"

Govegein looked at Raddin and said, "Do you know what the Dwemer did to them?" Before Raddin could answer, Govegein jumped into the water and began the swim to shore.

* * *

**Finally, they locked me in with the scamps. There was so little internet in this plane of Oblivion, I finally got something out.**

**So again, though Winterhold and on to the Elder Scrolls.**


	18. The Point of Puncture

Chapter 17- The Point of Puncture

The wind had picked up again. The open plateau to the west of Winterhold was now obscured by the snowstorm. Snow blinded any travelers brave enough to traverse the mountain pass, but this didn't stop Govegein and Raddin. Govegein's fur cloak was caked in snow, his covered face peered out from his beneath hood. Raddin on the other hand was barely phased by the cold and snow. Govegein figured that it was because of his race, Nords had always seemed at peace in the cold. Govegein could barely tolerate the cold; that was why he chose to specialize in fire magic, not that he didn't learn other types of magic, he just wanted to easily stay warm in the frigid land of his birth. Now, though, he was forced to rely on the pelts of dead animals to keep warm, his stunted Magika to blame.

"How much farther?" Raddin shouted above the wind. It seemed the storm was finally beginning to get to him. He rubbed his arms, heating the cold skin. Snow and ice whipped around them as they searched for any sign of the ancient city.

"I'm not sure. The land here is susceptible to change, and with the great collapse, I'm afraid the entrance might have been lost," Govegein shouted back. Soon enough, they found a Dwemer tower jutting out of the ice. Its enchanted gates were closed and they sat above ground level, but a scaffold had been built to reach it. Upon closer inspection, it seemed that they had stumbled into a campsite. There were two rundown shacks and a nailed down tent.

"Hey, Govegein, what do you make of this?" Raddin stood in one of the shacks, partially shielded from the snow, holding a book. Govegein examined the building Raddin was standing in, it was torn apart, probably from the recent and frequent snowstorms. Frost covered much of the walls and icicles dripped from the few remains of the ceiling.

Govegein took the book and skimmed through a few of the pages. "It seems to be an expedition manifest. The crew took shelter in the ruins to escape yesterday's snowstorm." The book detailed who took part in the expedition and how far they had made with each day.

"If they are not here, then that must mean that they ran into trouble in the ruins. We have to help them," Raddin said, his instincts kicking in again. That heroic strain of dragon blood mixing with human, Govegein supposed.

Knowing the Dwemer, whatever trouble they got into inside the ruins was steam related, overly complex, and of the deadly variety. Govegein sighed. "We'll see what we can do, but if they did get into the trouble you think that they did, they might be beyond help." Raddin nodded, steeled for the decent into the ruin.

* * *

Upon entering the Glacial Ruin, Govegein and Raddin found an abandoned campsite. There was a journal sitting on a nearby barrel. Govegein checked the latest entries, they only confirmed what the manifest said. These fools should have left the ruins undisturbed.

The two moved on, deeper into the Dwemer ruin. Ice broke away to stone as the influence from the outside world faded. On a table sat a disassembled Dwarven Spider. Govegein skimmed the research notes that sat nearby. Suddenly there was a hiss behind them and the scraping of metal on stone. A functioning Dwarven Spider had traveled through the pipes to greet the new intruders. Electricity shot out from the mechanism on top of it and hit Govegein. Raddin tore the mechanism off of it with his sword, causing a burst of electricity and the spider to fall apart.

"How did you know to do that?" Govegein asked.

"I told you. Before all of this Dragonborn business, I studied the Dwemer," Raddin replied. "It doesn't look like we can get any deeper into the ruin from here." Raddin pointed towards the bars blocking their way. "Let's try moving through the icy part over there." He moved towards a hallway that was filled, again, with snow.

"Where is it? I know you were trying to keep it for yourself J'zhar... You always try to keep it for yourself!" The voice echoed through the icy cavern. No response came from the supposed J'zhar. Govegein and Raddin silently crept through the tunnel, growing closer to the voice. "No! There's got to be more skooma... Shut up! Shut up! Don't lie to me J'zhar! You hid it! You always try to steal it from me!" It became obvious that the owner of the voice was going through withdrawal, J'zhar probably wasn't even here. Finally Govegein and Raddin found the source of this voice, in a small campsite stood a mangy Khajiit. "What? Who is this, Brother? Another of the smooth skins looking for food? But this one wasn't trapped with us..." he said, noticing the newcomers. "No... No! You must be the one who took my skooma!" The Khajiit drew a knife and lunged for Raddin. Raddin side-stepped and quickly killed the addict.

Examining the campsite, Govegein found a dead Khajiit. The corpse looked similar to the addict, but healthier. "This must be J'zhar."

"Take a look at this," Raddin said. He had found another journal. It seemed that these two were part of the excavation team, they had run out of skooma for the addict, J'darr. J'darr had begun to hallucinate creatures in the snow and ice. One of the other members of the team had gone missing, J'darr blamed the creatures, but the team blamed J'darr. "It seems like there are Falmer in these ruins after all."

Behind the campsite the snow and ice faded away to reveal a large room. The distinctive hiss and scrape sounded as two Dwarven Spheres emerged from the pipes. The balls unfolded to show the automated guards. One came in close while the other covered it with crossbow fire. The first one cut and slashed at Raddin as Govegein set the oily floor on fire. Under the pressure of the heat, the second sphere crumbled, its parts red hot. Raddin tore into the first one with his Battle Axe and destroyed the gears that moved the automaton.

The next room held a few Dwarven Spiders, but they were quickly melted away by the oil that Govegein lit. This room led to a hallway that rose to the second floor of the first chamber. Dodging the moving pistons, Govegein and Raddin made their way across the room and into the Animuculary.

The area had once been a workshop, but it has since fallen into disarray. A Dwarven Spider worked tirelessly, trying to fix the ancient machinery. Sensing the presence of intruders, the spider turned and attacked. Defeating it was easier than the others, it had only been a worker. Moving onto a raised platform activated a Dwarven Sphere, which was set aflame by the ever present oil.

Beyond the smoldering remains of the Sphere was a staircase. The stairs had a slit running down the middle. On the stairs themselves were several pressure plate. Raddin carefully climbed the stairs, pressing his back to the wall. Govegein calmly walked up the stairs, stepping on a pressure plate. At the top of the stairs, a set of blades slid out of the slit. The blades dropped to the side and began to spin, moving down the slit. Raddin pressed himself to the wall, he was so close to the top of the stairs. The spinning blades passed him, barely scratching his knees. The mechanism made its way down the stairs towards Govegein, who was still walking up the stairs. As the blades got near him, Govegein jumped into the air, soaring over the blades as they hit the bottom of the stairs and began the way back up. Raddin cleared the stairs as the blades reached Govegein again. Govegein jumped again and the blades passed under him, returning to their original place and sliding back into their slit.

"How did you set that off?" Raddin shouted.

"By stepping on a pressure pad. Did you not see them?" Govegein said.

"Yes, it was an obvious trap. Why, then did you fall for it?"

"I didn't fall for anything, I jumped over the blades," he explained.

Raddin sighed. "Fine, let's just move on." He pulled a switch, and a Dwarven Spider dropped out of a pipe behind him. "How many of these things are there?" he asked, turning around.

Govegein tore the core off of the top of the Spider. "Thousands in this ruin alone, why do you ask?" Raddin just sighed again and walked through a now open gate. Past the gate was an astounding room. It was dug deep into the ground, bridges spanned the gap, descending into the unknown. Raddin walked down a ramp, making his way to a central spiral. Govegein followed suit, examining the drop. Before getting to the central spiral, the companions came to a small drop onto the top of a pillar.

Dropping down they found the corpse of an Orismer woman. She didn't seem to have a journal, but Govegein guessed what had happened to her. "She must have escaped. Can't tell from here if she freed the entire group or not, but I'm guessing the corpses we don't see here fled deeper into the ruin." The sound of bare feet on stone made Govegein and Raddin look towards the ramp. There stood a strange, hunched over creature. It had no eyes, just a kind of scar tissue, its skin was pale and transparent. What little clothing it did wear was made out of large insect parts, probably Chaurus. This was a Falmer, or what was left of one. The thing hissed and charged at them. Govegein decapitated it with his axe, freezing the snow elf's flesh.

"By the nine," Raddin said. "That was a Falmer, wasn't it?"

"You've never even seen one have you?" Govegein said, proceeding down the spiral.

"They are a touchy subject for you, aren't they?" Raddin probed.

"They were once a proud race." Govegein explained. "They had their own beliefs, art, even a secret school of magic, but the Dwemer took that all away. When the first Atmoran settlers fought with the snow elves, they were pushed out of their homes. Great Falmer cities fell and were replaced with Atmoran settlements. The Falmer took refuge in the only place that they could, with their cousins the Dwemer." Another Falmer jumped out of the shadows, only to be thrown off of the ramp by Govegein. "As payment, the Dwemer took the eyesight of the Falmer and enslaved them. I've seen many Falmer slaves get beatings for tripping on their master's foot. Now, it seems, that they have gotten even worse since the Dwemer disappeared."

"So you feel sorry for them? But you show them no mercy." Raddin was trying to understand how Govegein saw the Falmer. Govegein cut through more Falmer who tried to attack them. He grimaced as he killed each one.

"I end their lives quickly and be done with it. They cannot be helped now." They moved down the ramp to a set of doors. Through the doors lay a new campsite, but not one from of the expedition. Falmer made tents stood in the corners of the room. One Falmer stood at an alchemy lab while another squatted in his tent. Govegein motioned Raddin forward. Raddin snuck down the stairs into the campsite. He took a deep breath and Shouted a blast of fire out of his mouth. Govegein used this to rush in and kill the two Falmer.

The next room was riddled with piping and two furnaces on the far side of the room. Some of the pipes had openings that either spun or turned on and off. Along one side of the room stood some shelves. Govegein motioned of Raddin to follow him. They crept along the shelf above unnoticing Falmer and fire traps. They jumped down and moved towards the next room, only to be met by more Falmer. This party was quickly dispatched by the two warriors.

The next room was a gruesome sight to behold. Freshly used torture devices lay around the room. On one table was what looked like all of a mage's belongings. Strapped to a table across from that one was the ruined body of the mage. The Altmer woman had been tortured to death by the Falmer. She was presumably the mage that the expedition had procured.

Exiting the torture room lead Govegein and Raddin back to the tall cavern. The final decent to the bottom of the room was marked by a few Falmer and a giant spider. Raddin cut down the Falmer while Govegein roasted the spider. The duo said goodbye to the cavern as they moved on to the next area of Alftand.

* * *

"That thing was powerful, I'm glad that the other did not make a move," Umana said as she and her boss explored the Cathedral. Upon their entry one of the Dwarven automatons awoke from its slumber. It was a Centurion, one of the most powerful machinations of the Dwemer. "There is no way deeper into the ruin, we should just cut our losses and take the lift back up to the surface." The sound of doors opening and closing softly sounded in the distance. "We got away from those Falmer things, and there is no treasure down here."

"No," Sulla said, "We're going down into Blackreach." There were now sounds of fighting off in the distance. "There has to be some way down, look around." Umana sighed, there wasn't enough gold in the world to make her go deeper into this ruin, but she couldn't stop Sulla. The gates of the Cathedral opened and two figures moved in. One was clad in Iron armor and the other in Ebony. Their presence seemed to awaken the other Centurion. It moved to attack them but the one in Iron tossed it back with his voice. The one in Ebony quickly moved to cut apart the machinery inside the Centurion.

* * *

The Centurion fell. Govegein tore some soul gems out of it and used them to fuel his weapons. At the back of the Cathedral sat the entrance to Blackreach. Behind a second gate the short alter sat, undisturbed. As Govegein and Raddin approached the gate, a Redguard and an Imperial moved from the shadows.

"We have to leave, now," the Redguard woman said.

"No, I know what you are doing. You're trying to take credit for my work, aren't you? Well I won't have it. You die here." The Imperial drew his sword and swung at the woman. She rose her shield just in time to defend herself. She drew her mace and the fight began. He dodged her slow swings while she blocked his. The Redguard woman ran into the Imperial, impaling him. The Imperial took this chance to stab the Redguard in the back of the neck, severing her head as he lay, dying of blood loss.

Govegein put the attunement sphere into its slot while Raddin lamented over the dead. The entire expedition team had been lost. Raddin had not been able to save any of them. "That is it, no one else will die in front of me ever again," he said. The two explorers descended into the depths of Blackreach.

* * *

**I have gained some minimal control over the scamps, once I gain enough trust, we will break out of this prison.**

**I should be able to finish this story by the end of the week. I have decided not to really change Fanboy, but Dragon Priests will be rebooted.**


	19. The Depths

18- The Depths

The first thing that Govegein noticed was that Blackreach was full of light. Almost everything that grew there seemed to produce its own light. Then he noticed the remnants of Dwemer architecture dotting the massive cavern. This included a strange structure in what seemed to be the middle of the cavern, over the structure hung a massive ball of light. Finally he heard the whirring and clanking of a Dwarven Sphere as it rolled towards him.

The Sphere sprung up and began its attack. It seemed to sense that it was both outnumbered and outmatched, as it was keeping its distance. Bolts flew, one piercing Raddin's leg, as Govegein closed in on the Sphere. The Sphere backed away, swinging its axe to fend off Govegein, but he only moved closer. Blocking the Sphere's axe with his, Govegein stabbed into the Sphere's core with his sword.

Govegein turned towards Raddin. "Are you okay?"

"I'll be fine," Raddin replied, "This place is amazing." He pointed up at the ball of light. "I've never even read about anything like that. This must be a new discovery, I'll bet that no one has been down here in centuries. Excluding the Falmer, of course. They must be lurking in the shadows somewhere. The sounds of the fight might have drawn their attention, we should find a place to hide for now." Raddin limped over to a small Dwemer hut that sat across an ancient road. Govegein followed Raddin, watching for any Falmer brave enough to approach.

The inside of the hut surprised both adventurers. A skeleton was lying beside the bed, Dwarven Arrows protruding from its ribs. On the opposite side of the room a vibrating pulse sounded. Govegein looked over to inspect the sound, it appeared to be a Nirnroot unlike any other he had seen. In his time, the Nirnroot gave off a yellow glow. A visit to an alchemist's shop had shown him that the magnificent flora had begun to give off a blue-green glow. This one, however, was red.

Closer inspection of the skeleton revealed it to be an Altmer. Clutched in the skeleton's hands was a dusty journal. Govegein took the journal from the skeleton. The journal was written by a scholar named Sinderion, he was doing research on why the Nirnroot in this cave gave off a crimson glow. Raddin pocketed the Nirnroot as Govegein put the journal back in Sinderion's hands. "The Falmer have probably left by now. We should be going straight to the Tower, but I don't even know where it is," Raddin said.

The two explorers left the hut, Govegein noted many spires reaching into the roof of the cavern, but only one of them held the Elder Scroll. "Most of the towers seem to be direct exits from the cavern, we should try to find one that is separated from the others or one that leads somewhere else. Probably on the opposite side of this cavern," Govegein extrapolated.

"Maybe we could see it from that area around the glowing orb," Raddin supplied.

"No, we wouldn't be able to see into the darker areas if we are in that light. But it might be in that direction," Govegein sighed. "For now, though, let's just follow the roadway, it might even lead to the Scroll."

Raddin chuckled, "You know what they say, 'all paths lead to the Imperial City'." As they began their exploratory trek Govegein looked at Raddin, confused. "Right, no Empire in your time. Cyrodiil is the seat of the current Empire, its capital is the Imperial City, which was built around the White Gold Tower."

"Oh, the Ayleid Temple of the Ancestors. I was told that it was amazing, but I suspect that it has been changed severely if it has been turned into a city." As Govegein finished his thought, an arrow flew past his head. "How do Falmer shoot their bows so well, they are blind?" He spun to meet one of the hissing elves with his axe. They quickly dispatched the foot soldiers, but the archers were still a problem. Govegein and Raddin ran down the road as more Falmer came into sight near a dormant Dwarven Centurion.

"Keep running, I've got an idea," Raddin shouted. As Govegein ran down the pathway, he heard a familiar hiss of steam and whirring of gears. Glancing back, he saw that Raddin had turned the Centurion on. He sprinted faster than Govegein had ever seen him sprint away from the massacre behind him. The bloody Centurion turned towards the fleeing adventurers as it began to seek more targets. "I never said that it was a good one," Raddin said as he ran past.

* * *

Raddin and Govegein had run around the entirety of Blackreach, followed by their new 'guardian' as it distracted hostile enemies and chased the intruders. Along the way, their presence awoke two more Dwarven Centurions who promptly joined the chase. When they found a Giant, Govegein had an idea. "Follow me," he said as they hid behind a wall from their pursuers. The three Centurions met the confused Giant and locked on to their new target.

The first Centurion cut at the Giant's legs with its axe. The Giant, now enraged at these metallic monstrosities, swung his club in a wide arc, knocking his attacker into another Centurion. The Centurions took formation against their foe, blasting at it with three vents of steam. They then swung at the Giant with their hammers in unison. The Giant rose its club above its head and brought it down hard on one of the Centurions, crushing most of its upper body. The Centurion fell and the Giant moved to attack the next one.

"So," Raddin said as he and Govegein watched the fight. "Why didn't we fight them?" He had just realized that they could have fought the first Centurion on their own and snuck away.

Govegein thought for a moment and asked, "Why did you turn them on?"

"We were about to be killed by Falmer! I don't know about you, but I don't want to be eaten by those deformed elves." That was a fair point, but it was not like they couldn't have killed the Falmer on their own.

"They wouldn't eat us . . . probably." Govegein no longer knew what the Falmer would do to anyone they caught, would they eat them? Would they just torture them? What if they just made slaves out of some of them? Who could say anymore without finding out personally?

The Giant swung down, crushing another of the Centurions. The final Centurion, battered and dented from the Giant's club, cut into the Giant's back with its axe. The Giant, bloody and exhausted, swung its club and decapitated the last Centurion.

"All I'm saying is that we already took down a Centurion not even a few hours ago. Why did we not take down the first one?" Raddin continued.

"Well, we were both tired from that last fight, I'm low on Magika, and we were already running, you faster than me," retorted Govegein.

The last Centurion was not done yet. With steam escaping from its neck, it crashed its hammer into the Giant's chest with a loud crack. Both foes fell, the Giant dead and the Centurion deactivated. Govegein looked at the carnage before him, not unlike those he had seen before. Bits of Dwemer metal had flown across the battlefield, oil and water were dripping from the husks that were the Centurions, their weapons coated in blood. The Giant lay in the center of it all.

Govegein sighed, "We should go." Looking down the ancient road he saw a tower. Judging from how the river dropped near the tower and the bridge to the doorway, he suspected there was a waterfall around it. "Let's check that tower for the scroll," he said, pointing. The two exhausted warriors made their way towards the tower.

* * *

The first room of the underground tower held a small campsite. Resting did not seem like a good idea as the previous occupants were 'evicted' before they could pack up the camp. Some ruined books littered the walls of the room. In the back of the room was a lift to the next floor. The duo took the lift, eager to finish their quest.

The next room did not seem like much at first glance. Just a strange wall that curved away from the viewer and a ramp to the left. Once Govegein and Raddin took the ramp up, they saw that the room was much bigger than they first assumed, and that the 'wall' was actually a massive sphere in the middle of the room. The ramp ended in a glass floor at the top of the stone sphere. The top of the sphere was cut off, revealing some of the mechanism it contained, rings of Dwarven mental coiled around a smaller orb inside of the sphere and a small walkway extended into the center of the opening.

"It looks like an oculory, read about something similar in Mzulft, but I didn't think that there would be another in here," Raddin said.

Two more ramps lead to a raised platform overlooking the room. Above the sphere hung a strange array of Dwarven metal and crystals. The platform seemed to house a control mechanism of sorts. Govegein took out the Lexicon that Septimus gave them and placed it in the stand, like he had seem some Dwemer do before diplomatic meetings. The control panel burst into life as the cube touched the stand. Two buttons glowed, pressing the first did nothing, pressing the second caused the structure to move, startling Raddin.

"What did you do?" the startled Nord shouted.

Govegein laughed, "I think I turned it on." Pressing the button again caused the orb to spin and the rings to realign themselves. The walkway now opened towards Govegein and the orb had revealed crystals on its surface. The next button lit up in preparation. Pressing the new one moved the array that hung above the sphere. Pressing it again moved the array into position and light bent through the crystals in the array to land on the crystals on the orb. With this the final button lit.

Pressing it dropped an oblong crystal into the center of the walkway. The crystal opened revealing the Elder Scroll. Its large ornate casing held only a small bit of cloth, but that bit held secrets that even the et'Ada did not know. The casing was pure white with jewels at either end and in the center of the casing. Raddin lifted the scroll and placed it on his back. Govegein tossed the inscribed lexicon to him and the two entered the lift to the top of the tower. Upon exiting the tower, the two found another abandoned camp. Without another word, the two adventurers dropped into the bedrolls and slept until the sun rose.

* * *

**One scamp, the others call him Stumpy, panicked and tried to escape. They fed him to a daedroth.**

**Anything else? No? Okay, uh, bye . . . I guess.**


	20. Monahven

Chapter 19- Monhaven

Govegein found the trek up the 7000 steps easier than the last time he visited, even with the snowstorm that began. Raddin had not. The night before, when the adventurers decided to rest, they were asked to investigate a rumor about a haunted crypt near Ivarstead. Upon Govegein's insistence, they searched the barrow to find a Dunmer mage who had used a potion to make him appear as a ghost to scare off the villagers as he attempted to loot the grave. Raddin did not sleep well that night as he found that a fear of ghosts had joined his arachnophobia. He had several nightmares about Govegein's ghost haunting him after this dragon fiasco was over and done with.

"I . . . hate . . . mountains," Raddin wheezed as they reached the Throat of the World. These nightmares were strangely vivid, unlike his normal dreams. Each time Govegein would just seem to appear, bathed in a ghostly light and transparent. Each time he would whisper, 'you failed me'. Each time the scene would fade away to some other world.

Govegein laughed, he slept well after using the Dunmer's potion to scare Raddin. "It's not that bad the second time around though." He drank a little of the potion to give off the ghostly appearance and snuck into Raddin's room. Shaking the bed a little woke Raddin just long enough for Govegein to appear before Raddin succumbed to slumber again.

Raddin fell to the ground, "Just let me sleep here. In the nice cold snow."

"Zu'u fen fun hi, I didn't stay here for od, the snow. The cold is horrible," Paarthunax said.

"Agreed, I don't know how you Nords put up with the constant cold," Govegein shivered. "I grew up with it and still hate it."

Raddin sat up. "Let's just get this over with." He stood and walked towards a disturbance in the air. "This is the tear right?" He waved a hand through the disturbance. "It feels weird, like water in the air." Raddin stepped inside the tear and removed the Elder Scroll from is back. Holding the Scroll up before his face, he took a deep breath and opened it.

"Ful nu fos?" Govegein said. He wondered what they should do while they waited for Raddin to snap out of his daze.

"Lost hi dein vok voth hin hadriidak?" Paarthunax replied. He knew Govegein wouldn't meditate on the words of the Dovah, but he had always wanted to see the boy speak like one of the Dov. Before Govegein could answer a roar swept through the mountainside. "Alduin."

The great dragon approached the mountaintop. "Daar joor mey mindok ni fos rok setkiir voth." Alduin could sense the same power, the same kel, that had shot him through time. He hated it, and he would see it burn, no matter the cost.

"Nid zuk meyus togaat wah naak lein," Govegein mocked.

Alduin laughed. "Daar pusojur tinvaak un vun pruzah. Dreh Zu'u mindok hi?" Something about the voice's cadence seemed familiar, but he could not place the mortal to whom it belonged.

"You were always horrible with the faces of men, Al." Alduin had only ever been called that twice. The first time, he tore the mortal apart, piece by piece. The second time was when one of his own High Priests betrayed the cult.

"Ah, Konahrik. It is surprising that you yet live." Alduin said as he landed before the Breton.

"Careful wyrm, I have not served you for years even before you were defeated here," Govegein said. He lunged forward and cut Alduin along the snout. The wound closed as the blades left the flesh. Alduin released a torrent of flame in response to this attack.

Govegein shrugged off the flames and jumped onto Alduin's back as the dragon rose into the air. The dragon spun and danced in the air as Govegein held on for his life. He buried his sword into Alduin's back. Alduin could not heal until the blade left his back, but Govegein drove the blade deeper into the dragon's hide, its enchantment burning at the flesh beneath the scales. This might have been one of his worse ideas, Alduin spun as he flew through the air, trying to shake the man off. He twisted and turned, shaking the spines on his back with each beat of his mighty wings. Finally Govegein lost his grip.

* * *

An ancient scene played itself out before Raddin. Warriors killed dragon after dragon, but with heavy losses. Soon two warriors came before him, one woman and one man. "Hakon! A glorious day, is it not?" the woman said.

"No, our losses are great and Alduin is nowhere to be seen. Gormlaith, are you sure that your boyfriend can be trusted?" the man, Hakon, said.

"Konahrik is far from my boyfriend," Gormlaith darkly said, "but he can be trusted, he lead us to countless victories. Alduin is on his way."

"He is a Dragon Priest, he may be tricking us." Hakon persisted. Even if the Warlord and Paarthunax were the reason they even stood a chance in this rebellion, he was loathe to trust them.

"The Warlord is not, Alduin will come." A voice said from behind Raddin. An old man, older even than Esbern walked through Raddin, towards the warriors. He wore robes suspiciously similar to the Greybeards and carried a greatsword and a large bundle on his back.

"Felldir, we have staked everything on this plan you made with that Priest." Hakon said, turning away from his compatriots to watch the horizon.

Felldir scanned the skies for the black beast. "I am more worried about what we will do if Alduin actually does come. He is like no lesser dragon, no one has stood to him before." Felldir continued.

"Those that fell did not have Dragonrend," Gormlaith proudly stated. She was confident in her ability to kill any dragon. She was fast even before Konahrik trained her, and with his training she became stronger than she thought possible.

"You do not understand. Alduin cannot be killed. He is beyond our strength," Felldir said. "Which is why I brought the Elder Scroll." The old man pulled the bundle from his back as Hakon returned to the conversation. Unwrapping it, he revealed the Elder Scroll.

"Felldir, we agreed not to use it." Hakon said.

"I never agreed, and if you are right, we won't need it," Felldir said as he stowed the Scroll on his back. He didn't even know how to use the Scroll. Maybe if he pleaded with it, just maybe it would understand, maybe it would help them.

"No, we shall deal with Alduin ourselves. Here and now," Hakon said, turning away from the old man.

"We shall see soon enough, Alduin approaches," Gormlaith said excitedly. She readied herself, drawing her sword and hitting her shield with it.

"So be it," Hakon said, drawing his weapon.

Alduin descended on the three and began his onslaught. He flew through the air as flaming stones fell to the ground. The three warriors drew breath in unison and shouted "Joor Zah Frul." The meanings of the words flowed through Raddin's head as Alduin fell to the ground. Even grounded, the black dragon proved too powerful for the ancient warriors. Alduin picked Gormlaith up and broke her back. He burnt Hakon terribly, but the Nord did not relent as Felldir took out the Elder Scroll. Alduin turned his sights to the old man as he began the chant. A second gout of flames burnt Felldir as they wrapped around the scroll. Alduin was bathed in a golden light as he was swept out of time itself. Felldir fell to the ground as the scene faded.

* * *

As Raddin came to his senses, he dropped the Elder Scroll in the snow. Govegein was falling from Alduin's back. Alduin caught him by his arm and tore it off, flinging him into the air again. This time he decapitated the Breton, before getting blindsided by Paarthunax. "Dovahkiin, the shout. Use it!" the aged dragon shouted.

Raddin glared at Alduin, the blood pumping through his veins drowned out the dragon's gloating. He breathed in and shouted, "Joor," Alduin's eyes widened, "Zah," the black dragon twisted through the air, "Frul," a blast of energy erupted from Raddin's mouth and hit Alduin. The massive dragon fell to the ground, hitting the word wall. Raddin took his battleaxe in hand and charged the great beast.

Raddin cut at Alduin's face and Alduin replied with fire. Circling the Dragon, Raddin cut at Alduin's wings. As Dragonrend wore off, though, the wounds healed and Alduin lifted off again. Raddin quickly grounded the Dragon with another shout, and Alduin fell to his side. Seeing the sword buried in Alduin's back, Raddin tore it out, causing the dragon to writhe in pain. "You deserve worse than this for all those that you have killed," Raddin said, walking towards Alduin's head. He cut apart the Dragon's throat.

Walking away, Raddin heard a sputtering laughter. "You cannot kill me here Dovahkiin." The World eater rose from the blood and snow. Dragonrend's effect disappeared as his wounds closed and Alduin rose and flew into the distance.

"Where did he go?" Raddin spat at Paarthunax, who sat over Govegein's body.

"To Sovngarde to regain his strength by feeding on your fellow mortals. I do not know where his portal is, but I suspect that I know someone who can tell you," the dragon said, not looking away from the body. He almost seemed to be shaking, was it sadness? Rage? Would a dragon even feel that for another creature?

"He deserved better than this." Raddin said. The thought barely even struck him. Govegein was dead. The mysterious warrior who dragged Raddin into this whole mess, dead. He was a companion, a mentor, and a friend. And now Raddin would have to face the end of the world on his own. How could he do it when he couldn't even face a spider?

"Beimiir; that was what my servants named him. He was devoted to our traditions if he kept his outcast title. He will be burned at a pyre, an honor given only to the greatest of warriors." Paarthunax said. Not even the Dragon Priests were given that honor, only those who had shown enough valor on the fields of battle to avoid being turned into Draugr stood the chance.

The following morning, the Greybeards placed Govegein's remains on a bed of wood atop the mountain. Even some of the villagers and pilgrimage takers attended the ceremony. A great warrior died defending their world and they just felt it necessary to see him off. Not even the dragon standing over the body would drive them away. Paarthunax lit the pyre and began the proceedings. After the funeral, Paarthunax sent Raddin to Dragonsreach in an attempt to get a place to capture their informant, Odahviing.

* * *

**Stumpy's sacrifice was not in vein, however. Our escape shall begin soon, but not quite soon enough it seems. The planes are shifting and our original destination is no longer in sight.**

**Only a few more chapters, then new stuff for once.**


	21. Hunting Snow

Chapter 20- Hunting Snow

With the information from Paarthunax, Raddin approached Dragonsreach's grand doors as they opened. A Khajit stepped out of the doorway, his black fur poking out of Thieves' Guild armor. Raddin recognized him, "Tar'zuk?" The Khajit's ears twitched before he jumped. The black fur stood on end as he turned towards Raddin.

"Oh, scared Nord! Good, Tar'zuk has heard that you are what they call the Thane of this place. Please explain to guard that Tar'zuk has touched nothing," the Khajiit said. A guard was indeed tailing him. The guards were always cautious around Khajiit, seeing one in thieving gear did not help the overall impression of them.

Raddin felt that he still owed Tar'zuk for his help in the Ratways, even though he did not know the Khajit very well. "Stop hassling the cat. Follow me Tar'zuk, I get the feeling that I might need your help." Raddin dragged the Khajiit back into the keep. Another set of hands is always welcome in catching a dragon. Approaching the throne, Raddin said, "Jarl Balgruuf, what a pleasure to see you again. I have a request."

"Right to the point I see, alright what is it?" the Jarl asked as he leaned back in his throne.

The immense magnitude of what he was about to ask hit Raddin like a troll thrown by a giant. I'm asking him to let a dragon into his keep, this is crazy. There is no way that he would agree to that. Oh no, I haven't answered yet, why haven't I answered yet. Govegein would have the trap set by now. But, Govegein is not here, this is something I have to do. Raddin swallowed. "I need to use your keep to capture a dragon," he almost shouted.

Any sound that had been made stopped, from the whispers of the court to the shuffling of the servants. Everyone who was in the room was speechless. Balgruuf sat, stunned. "If it is all the same to you, I would rather not let a dragon into my home."

"I understand, but," Raddin pressed on, "I need to do this to stop Alduin. The dragon that will kill you and eat your soul and everyone's if he is not put down."

"Either way, I cannot spare forces to help this plan with a war at Whiterun's doorstep." Balgruuf persisted.

"Um, that may not be a problem," a large orc stepped forward from behind Raddin. He wore a strange style of steel armor with wolves emblazoned on it. "Ulfric was assassinated a few days ago by a Dunmer who had joined his army. I know this because she dragged me with her to join the army promising a good show." Something was strangely familiar about the orc. He stood at about the same height as Raddin, maybe even a little taller, his hair was shaved at the sides and tied at the back of his head and horns stood prominently atop his brow.

"Hi, that was me. I'm the aforementioned Dunmer, Reysi," she said as she slipped out of the shadows behind the orc. No one had even see her, the Dark Elf had completely extinguished her presence behind the orc even to Tar'zuk, who could spot a mouse in a field across the way on a moonless night. Reysi wore her signature black and red form fitting leather armor. "And this is my furry companion Udbuloo." She rubbed the orc's face as she introduced him.

Sighing, the orc pushed the touchy elf away. "My name is Ugdulub. Good to see you again Raddin," he said, nodding to the Dragonborn. Now, the Nord was struck silent. The wiry Orismer lad that he and Govegein had met and trained had changed immensely. In the span of a few months, Ugdulub had undergone a miraculous transformation. But something else was off, he almost seemed tired, or like something had left him.

The Jarl rubbed his eyes and sighed. At least they had prevented the war from getting too out of hand. "Putting aside the obvious criminality of some of my guests," Balgruuf said looking between Reysi and Tar'zuk. "I will entertain this request of yours, Dragonborn. But how, may I ask, do you even intend to lure a dragon here?"

"I am perfectly willing to be the beautiful lady that is offered as sacrifice to the dragon," Reysi shouted, jumping up and down.

"No, I'm just going to call his name. Once he hears the Dragonborn's challenge, and he will hear it, he will come to see the man who single handedly sent Alduin crying back to his temple." Raddin said confidently. Inside he screamed.

"You fought Alduin alone and survived? Without Govegein? Where is he by the way, did he get tired with your, uh, issues with fighting?" Ugdulub asked. Raddin's fists tightened, here it was. The question, what had happened to the man that once stood above them? The man who they had all looked up to for one reason or another.

"Govegein died fighting Alduin," Raddin said. Tar'zuk's ears fell flat on his head. Reysi stopped jumping, she practically froze, all of the mad joy leaving her face. Ugdulub's face darkened as he looked at his armor. "He died so that we could have this chance. So that we could track down a way to follow Alduin and finally kill him. I can only end this nightmare with your help, so who wants to trap a dragon?"

"I will help," Ugdulub said, rolling his shoulders. "This promises to be a good fight, and if it helps kill Alduin then that is all the better." A good fight in Govegein's name. Ugdulub would put his short teachings to good use.

"Tar'zuk hears that dragon scales go for much gold, Tar'zuk is in," the Khajiit stepped forward. "The Breton knew of the old ways and earned Tar'zuk's respect, Tar'zuk now has some anger to relieve himself of." The Khajit cracked his knuckles before fingering two swords that were strapped to his back.

Reysi looked up, rage in her eyes. "Govegein was a fun person and I will never forget our time as wedding crashers, killing brides. Now I will kill a few dragons in his name as he fades into the void," Reysi said. "Uh, but not this one." She quickly added.

Balgruuf rose from his throne, "I will allow this plan of yours to be set into motion. The hall overlooking the planes is where, legend has it, a dragon was trapped before. Let's see if it still works."

* * *

Guards were running around the open hall, preparing the trap. Ugdulub sat near the terrace overlooking the plain, sharpening an ancient battleaxe. Tar'zuk had changed into a black armor that somehow hid his Khajiit features and was practicing with an enchanted glass sword and a black blade. Reysi sat on the battlements, feet hanging far above the ground of the plains below, a black dwarven bow leaned beside her.

"Preparations are ready," Irileth said. The warriors began to move to their places. Ugdulub and Tar'zuk took positions near the opening to the balcony, ready to pounce on Odahviing when he landed. Reysi climbed up to a higher balcony to fire at the beast before it even landed.

"Now then, call the dragon." Balgruuf commanded.

Raddin took a deep breath. Okay, all eyes on you. You can do this. Paarthunax taught you the words. "Od." Govegein gave you the moves. You are the one born to hunt dragons. "Ah." You are the Dragonborn! "Viing!" The words echoed and the keep shook. After a few seconds a dragon's call sounded from the distance.

A minute passed. Then another. And another, and still no sight of the dragon. A guard walked out to the terrace, "Where i-" He was burned and tossed aside by the dragon swooping by the opening. The guard fell, dead, to the plains below.

"There it is, lure it into position," Balgruuf shouted. Reysi shot the dragon in several places, but it did not relent as it flew around the keep. The winged snow hunter refused to land.

"Joor Zah Frul," Raddin shouted at the dragon. Odahviing landed on the terrace and began to attack the warriors. Ugdulub and Tar'zuk rushed in and grabbed the dragon's attention. Raddin slashed the beast across its face with Dragonbane. Lightning arced across its face, but little else happened. They retreated into the keep as the dragon laughed.

Odahviing followed them inside, likely expecting an easy kill, then the trap fell on him. The great shackles bound Odahviing in place and he could no longer escape. "Nid!" he shouted as the trap locked in place.

"That went easier than I thought it would," Ugdulub said. He almost had trouble holding back enough to not wound Odahviing to much.

"Time to get some scales," Tar'zuk said, running behind the great beast.

"Horvutah med kodaav. Caught like a bear in a trap," the dragon spat. "Zok frini grind ko grah drun viiki, Dovahkiin. Ah, I forget. You do not have the Dovah speech. My , , , eagerness to meet you in battle was my . . . undoing, Dovahkiin. I salute your, hmm, low cunning in devising such a ghramindol – stratagem." Raddin approached the trapped dragon. "Zu'u bonaar. You went through a great deal of trouble to put me in this . . . humiliating position. Hiid siiv Alduin, hmm? No doubt you want to know where to find Alduin?"

"That's right, where is he hiding?" Raddin questioned.

"Rinik vozah. An apt phrase. Alduin bovul. One reason I came to your call was to test your Thu'um for myself. Many of us have begun to question Alduin's lordship, whether his Thu'um is truly the strongest. Among ourselves, of course. Mu ni meyye. None were yet ready to openly defy him."

"You were telling me where to find Alduin?" Raddin said, bringing Odahviing back to the matter at hand.

"Unslaad krosis. Innumerable pardons. I digress. He has travelled to Sovngarde to regain his strength, devouring the sillesejoor . . . the souls of the mortal dead. A privilege he jealously guards . . . his door to Sovngarde is at Skuldafn, one of his ancient fanes, high in the eastern mountains. Mindoraan, pah ok middovahhe lavraan til. I surely do not need to warn you that all his remaining strength is marshalled there. Zu'u lost ofan hin laan . . .now that I have answered your question, will you allow me to go free?"

"No, I lost my friend to Alduin. I think that it is only fair that Alduin loses his second in command," Raddin said. He rose Dragonbane and pointed its tip at Odahviing's eye.

"Saraan, wait. I neglected to mention one . . . detail about Skuldafn. You need to fly there, the temple cannot be reached by any other means," Odahviing said. Skuldafn was enchanted, by none other than Kohnarik himself, so that one could not even find it if they were not above it, much less reach it. The enchantment was so powerful that the temple was almost within its own separate plane of existence.

"What about a demon horse that can climb up walls?" Reysi asked. Meanwhile at the Whiterun stables Jervar checked on the horses, only to find that all but one of the horses had fled. The remaining one was a massive black stallion with burning red eyes and blood dripping from its mouth.

"Reysi, go sit in the corner and play with some charcoal," Raddin said. He did not want to deal with whatever ravings she was about to spout. Raddin was only concerned with following and defeating Alduin.

"But I have one I swear," Reysi muttered as the picked up some charcoal. Ugdulub followed her to her corner where she wrote poems in daedric. He got the feeling that only Raddin was going past this point in the adventure.

"If I release you, you have to take me there," Raddin said, "Agreed?"

"Rolur, agreed," Odahviing said. He sounded smug, like he had just gotten away with the lie of a lifetime. Though, if Raddin knew anything about dragons, especially after eating their souls, he knew that they were ones to keep their promises.

"If you try to double cross me, you will be put back here and left to rot." Raddin told the guards to release the dragon, and after some persuading they did.

"Are you ready to see the world as only a Dovah can?" Odahviing asked. He turned in the room, facing out towards the plain. Eyes on the sky he breathed in deeply.

"I have a fear of heights," Raddin replied, mounting the dragon. By now he knew that he should, and could, just bear with it and walk though this trial. Odahviing laughed as they took off.

* * *

**By the nine, we made it. Aaaaand I might have accidentally released a horde of scamps to freely wreak havoc on a small town. Eh, if any of you see any scamps I'll just assume you know what to do.**

**I forgot how much fun I had with some of Reysi's lines. **


	22. Skuldafn

Chapter 21- Skuldafn

Despite his fear, Raddin had to admit that the view from Odahviing's back was breath taking. They soared high above the clouds, rounding the Throat of the World, towards their destination. Even the Giants in their camps looked tiny from this height. Although, looking down at them threatened Raddin the loss of his last meal. A dragon roared below them, a sound not many hear from that direction. Looking around, Raddin saw the dragon begin to follow them.

"Krosis, he does not approve of this . . . betrayal to Alduin. He will want to stop you from interfering with his lord's . . . plans," Odahviing said over the wind. Raddin felt that he had had enough of dragons for his lifetime, but knew that there would only be more to come in the future. Dragonbane hummed at his side, Raddin could feel its thirst for the blood of dragons.

The clouds thickened as they flew on, obscuring Raddin's eyes. When they parted, Raddin saw a massive temple carved out of the mountain top. It was as if a great hand came out of the heavens and tore the top off of the mountain, forming a basin. A small river flowed through, separating a sort of landing pad from the main temple. From atop Odahviing, Raddin could see light pouring out of a rift at the top of the temple. Odahviing dropped Raddin off at the landing area on the other side of the river.

"Couldn't you have left me at the top of the temple?" Raddin shouted as Odahviing flew away. Shortly after, the other dragon landed above the bridge connecting the landing area to the temple. It wasted no words and immediately shouted fire at Raddin, who barely had enough time to raise his shield against the attack. The shield held against the fiery onslaught and the dragon had to find a new way to attack. He took off and Raddin saw his chance, "Joor Zah Frul!" The dragon fell to the ground, astonished by its sudden loss of flight. It glared at the Dragonborn who dared to use such a shout on it and snapped at Raddin. Raddin retaliated with Dragonbane, cutting through the dragon's scales and sending lightning arcing through its body. The dragon backed away, wary of the enchanted blade. Raddin rushed forward and stabbed the sword into the dragon's eye. The dragon slumped as its flesh began to evaporate and its soul entered Raddin.

Arrows whizzed past Raddin's head and he turned to spot two Draugr standing at the far side of the river. They notched new arrows into place as they took aim at Raddin again, their next shots may not miss. Raddin ran forward, across the bridge, attempting to both doge some arrows and block others with his shield. As he reached the other side of the bridge, Raddin turned to attack one of the archers. He quickly cut through the undead flesh and turned to his next target, but was thrown by a concussive blast from another Draugr who decided to enter the fray. The newcomer was a Deathlord, there would be many high ranking warriors held here. Raddin decided to finish off the archer first as he shook off the daze of the Deathlord's attack.

In the time it took Raddin to pull himself together, the Deathlord had closed the distance between them. Ducking under a swinging greatsword, Raddin darted towards the archer. "Yol," a quick blast of fire stunned the Draugr long enough for Raddin to cut the archer down. Turning back towards the Deathlord, Raddin rose his shield to block another blow from the greatsword. "Fus Ro Dah!" the blast threw the Deathlord into the wall behind it. Raddin rushed in and stabbed the Deathlord. It fell, lightning running through the reanimated flesh and ancient armor.

Raddin followed the path, defeating Draugr as he did, only to find another dragon lying in wait for him. It roared and he attacked. The dragon did not try to give him a reason to use Dragonrend, it stayed on the ground. It shouted an icy gale and Raddin stuck his shield into its mouth, forcing the great maw open. The dragon rose its head, taking Raddin with it. Raddin stuck Dragonbane into the roof of the dragon's mouth, ending the fight and dropping Raddin to the ground. "I am getting good at this," Raddin muttered to himself as he turned to the entrance of the hidden temple.

An archway lead to a great stairway, leading to the entrance of the temple. The stairway and the walls surrounding it were littered with Draugr, most of which were Deathlords. The archers already had Raddin in their sights as some of the Draugr on the stairway began to move towards Raddin, weapons drawn. "Feim," Raddin shouted as the arrows were loosed. They flew through the now ethereal Dragonborn, who began a mad dash towards the door atop the stairway. As the shout began to wear off, Raddin stuck Dragonbane into one of the passing Draugr. The blade rematerialized inside the Draugr and Raddin tore it out of the walking corpse. By this time, Raddin had passed most of the Draugr and almost reached the door. He sprinted, the fatigue now affecting him, past the remaining guards and into the temple, barring the door behind him.

* * *

The inside of the temple was no more pleasant than the outside, three Wights waited inside for the Dragonborn. Raddin sighed and prepped his battleaxe, refueling it's enchantment for the first time with a soul gem that Farengar lent him. He swung at the first Wight, clipping its shoulder. Feeling the rejuvenating enchantment at work, Raddin became more vicious with his onslaught. Spinning the axe around him in a way that Govegein had once shown him, Raddin swung the axe up into one of the Draugr's chests and through its head. Continuing, he spun, holding the axe at the bottom of its handle, and cleaved through the second Wight's chest. Turning, he rose Dragonbane to meet with the final Deathlord's throat as it charged him. Raddin withdrew his blades from the once again unmoving corpses and continued into the temple.

Immediately, Raddin found one of the old Nordic puzzles. The room was also filled with Draugr, but the weak kind that Raddin barely even noticed killing anymore. Noticing the symbols above the two gates, Raddin figured that if the ancient Nords were stupid enough to leave their combinations to the locks in plain sight in the other temples, they wouldn't do that here. Subsequently, Raddin spent about an hour trying every combination of the spinning totems he could think of before even noticing the lever in the middle of the room. After a few more hours of patterns and lever-pulling, Raddin was finally able to open the gate beyond.

The following room seemed to be some sort of embalming room and was guarded by a single Deathlord. Luckily, the Deathlord was facing the other way, so Raddin crouched and snuck up behind it. Jumping from the higher floor, Raddin crashed his battleaxe into the Deathlord's head. It crumpled to the floor. When the body twitched, Raddin shouted, "Yol," at it, bathing the corpse in fire. What Raddin saw in the room beyond stopped him dead in his tracks.

The entire next section of the temple was overrun with frostbite spiders. Taking a deep breath and bracing himself, Raddin entered the hallway. "FEIM FEIM FEIM FEIM!" Raddin shouted as he ran past the entire section of the temple, phasing through anything and everything.

The next room was large and seemed to hold another puzzle, along with a few Wights. Two of them rained arrows down from a central platform while two more closed in for the kill. Raddin readied Dragonbane and his shield. Blocking the arrows, Raddin cut and stabbed at the Draugr that approached him. "Fus Ro Dah," he blasted one into the air, hitting one of the archers. Using this distraction, Raddin stabbed through the other Draugr's chest, pulling his blade out only to decapitate the corpse. He ran up the stairs and cut through one of the archers on his way to the other. By now, the Draugr that Raddin had thrown had recovered and it charged him. With a blast of ice, Raddin was taken off guard, numbing his sword hand. Instinctively, Raddin shouted "Yol Fus," and a shockwave of fire left Raddin's mouth, blasting away his assailant. The Draugr died as it crashed into the far wall. The last archer looked at the Dragonborn, then at the carnage that was dealt around it. It fled into the spider-infested hallway.

Looking around, Raddin decided that he didn't want to play anymore mind games with this temple. He wasn't even going to try the puzzle this time. This time, he had a different idea. "Feim Wuld Nah," Raddin shot through the wooden wall that barred his way forward. Immediately after passing through the wood, Raddin threw up, something about moving through that disagreed with him. Raddin moved on into Skuldafn's depths.

* * *

The next room almost stumped Raddin, not because of any traps or anything like that, he just wondered why the ancient Nords would build a room like it. The room had little in it, save for a staircase that lead to a bridge that spanned the small room. Raddin quickly dealt with the three Draugr that lay in wait inside. The following room was even smaller, but it held a spiraling staircase. Raddin noticed the oil on the ground and set it aflame before anyone else could. Creeping up the staircase, Raddin could smell more of the oil. When he reached the top of the staircase, Raddin saw a small room off to one side and a sealed gate to the other. The small room may have been a gatehouse of some kind, it had a lever inside, but was filled with oil. Raddin also took note of the three Draugr that waited inside. "Yol," he shouted, lighting up the oil. Raddin held the door closed as the Draugr roasted.

Pulling the lever opened the gate and allowed Raddin access to a hall adorned with carvings similar to Alduin's wall, except they depicted Dragonpriests. At the end of the hall sat a Dragon Claw Door, guarded by a floating Draugr clothed in what could have been burial robes. The Draugr turned to Raddin and said something in Dovahzul before throwing spears of ice at the Dragonborn. Raddin dodged most of the spears, and blocked others with his shield before charging the Draugr. Surprised, the Draugr floated back and spun around Raddin, cloaking itself in a blizzard. As Raddin tried to get close to it, even he could feel the cold numbing his body. The Draugr seemed to laugh as it conjured a lance of ice and held it in its hand, approaching the downed Dragonborn. As it rose it's ice-lance Raddin shoved Dragonbane into the guard's chest. It fell, dead once more.

Raddin took the Diamond Claw from the dead guard. The combination to the puzzle door was imprinted on the palm of the claw, so this time Raddin put the correct combination into the door. The door slid down, revealing a large hall. Skeletons sat in thrones along the walls and at the end of the room was a word wall. Raddin approached it and felt the fire as a new word of the Dragon Language burned itself into his mind. Strun. Using the information from one of the souls he held within himself revealed the word to be storm.

With this new knowledge, Raddin looked for the path onward. A door past the wall lead Raddin back outside the temple, but now he was on the upper level near, if he remembered correctly the portal to Sovngarde. This platform also was crawling with Draugr. Raddin wasted no time in shouting, "Fus Ro Dah," and forcing them off of the temple.

As he walked around to the front of the temple, Raddin saw the staircase that would lead him to the portal. As he came to the top, Raddin noticed two things, the first was two dragons waiting for him, watching from atop the Temple. The second was what appeared to be a Draugr, it wore robes similar to the guard from before, but had a mask covering its face. The Dragons did not move, save their eyes as they observed the Dragonborn, the Draugr turned and floated up a second stairway onto a platform and reached for a staff that was planted into the platform.

Just as the Draugr reached the staff, a ball of fire shot out of the portal, into the floating decrepit corpse. As the fires died down, the shape of a man was revealed, he was holding the staff the Draugr had been reaching for. The Draugr was on the ground at Raddin's feet, as stunned as the Dragonborn. The man in the fire stepped forward, he was naked and Raddin recognized him. "What!?"

* * *

**And back to a more regular schedule. Hi everybody, if you're still reading this, good on you, glad you're here.**

**Two more chapter and an epilogue left for this so I should be done in like two or three days. **


	23. The Man in the Fire

Chapter 22 – The Man in the Fire

Govegein awoke screaming. The last thing he remembered he was on the Monahven with Raddin and Paarthunax, then Alduin came. He fought Alduin alone and . . . did he . . . die? Oh, by the nine, he died. Govegein hit himself in the face, time to act. First to figure out what plane he was on, then figure out what he should do next. Looking around didn't tell Govegein much, he was surrounded by fog thicker than the bile in the Ratway. He seemed to be on a road of some sort though, so he began to follow it. As he walked, sometimes, he could see shadows in the mists, hear the moans of lost souls, he would not end up like them. The road began to curve upward and ended at a stairway. Govegein continued on his way, climbing the steps when he heard the roar in the distance. The fog lessened as he reached the summit of the hill he climbed. Across the cloud he could just make out a massive hall sitting on a secluded plateau connected to the mainland by what seemed to be a bridge of bones.

That seemed like as good a place as any to find out what was going on, but if Govegein descended into the mists again, he risked getting lost. If he stayed on the peak he exposed himself to Alduin. The rise Govegein stood on ended in a cliff about as tall as Breezehome, and it was a straight shot towards the hall. Govegein stepped back into the fog as the black dragon flew overhead. Breathing deeply he sprinted forward, jumping off of the cliff just behind Alduin. He landed silently, but the wyrm noticed the disturbance in his mists. By the time it had circled back to check on it, though, Govegein was long gone, sprinting towards the bridge.

As Govegein approached the bridge the mists faded, almost as if they were repulsed by something. A lone warrior stood in Govegein's way. He was even larger than Farkas, so tall he dwarfed even the tall Breton. He examined Govegein before saying, "Hold. You are not permitted entry to Shor's mead hall, priest."

"So this is Sovngarde," Govegein said. "Why am I not permitted into what seems to be the one safe place here?" He waved towards the hall across the bridge and Alduin roared in the distance. "Are you not Tsun, shield-thane to Shor, and honor bound to let the dead into his hall?"

"All true," the warrior said, "but I was told, by Shor mind you, not to let you in."

"Isn't Shor dead? Didn't he die long before my parents were even born?"

"It's complicated."

"So why do I have to wait here?" Govegein questioned.

"A warrior will come for you, bearing Shor's blessing," Tsun replied. "She will lead you to your next destination." Female warrior . . . why did that give Govegein such a bad feeling? How many dead female warriors did he know? Would it even be one he knew? If it was, there was a decent chance she would attack him first, he didn't leave many good impressions as a Warlord, especially when people died.

Govegein stood next to Tsun and stared into the mists thinking. "I hope that it isn't Gormlaith. Last time I saw her she swore to tear my arms out and do unmentionable things with them. I swear . . . she hated me more than Raddin's old Housecarl."

Someone laughed behind them. "I wouldn't count on that," she said.

"Lydia! You're alive!" Govegein shouted, turning around.

"No, you are dead, you daft excuse for Breton," Lydia explained.

"Oh, right. I forgot. Death feel a lot like life." Govegein said. "So, you are here to explain why I am not allowed over the bridge."

Lydia gave a disgusted look. "I found a note addressed to me inside the mead hall a few minutes ago. In short it told me to give you the second page of it and to lead you to a portal to Mundas." In actuality the note also gave a long description of what Akatosh had to do to get Arkay to let him make Govegein a new body. And how excited he was because this was the first living creature he would be making in centuries. But Govegein didn't need to know all that. Well maybe the part about Akatosh seemingly playing around with making a human body, but Lydia didn't feel like telling him.

Govegein took the second page, it was written in Dovahzul. It was a list of words, anger, brutality, glorious, vengeance, sorrow, shadow, horrible, and warlord. Otar was also written down hastily on the side in a scratchy cyrodillic. On the bottom of the page were two more words, "Nust vopraan," they awake. Govegein crushed the page and threw it away. "Let's go."

* * *

These mists were not supposed to be in Sovngarde, they were some snare Alduin used to capture souls. They seemed to almost be a part of them. He could feel presences in the mists, although he could not distinguish between them. The blessing obscured Lydia from his view, along with anyone close enough to her. Govegein pressed close to her as they entered the mists. The portal that Alduin used was on a peak at the other side of the valley that made up much of this plane.

Soon another form emerged from the mists, it was the gagged Nord from the execution, Ulfric was it? He wandered, his face contorted into a look of horror as he drifted closer to the pair. Govegein reached out to the soul. "Don't. If you touch him you will interrupt the blessing and Alduin will come for us." Lydia said. "Come it can't much farther now."

After a few more minutes of walking and the mists began to part. They were on the other side of the valley and could not see what they had just passed through because of the mists. The portal was like a great tear in the sky. Energy seemed to flow out of it as two worlds met. "How in the name of Oblivion am I supposed to reach that?"

Govegein stood on the mountaintop looking up. The portal back to Mundus was far above him, energy whipped around it like a hurricane. He had been questioning how to get to the portal for quite some time now. Lydia sat behind him, the blessing had worn off and she was stuck there until Alduin was defeated. "Can't you do magic?" she asked.

"Once, but something changed and now it is kind of . . . broken for me," Govegein replied.

"How do you break magic?"

"You don't, that is just the simplest way to explain my predicament to you," Govegein said. "Over time, things change. Magika no longer flows down the paths that the people of my time used. Attempting to force it back into these paths can prove dangerous for the user, and changing a person's attunement to another path is nearly impossible without the assistance of an Et'ada. If I had my Mask back I could use all of my strength without fear. Even If I had one of the other Masks I could use a fraction of my power. They have this way of using magic that even I don't quite understand, and I made them."

Lydia laid back on the ground. "Okay at first I was offended that you didn't think I would understand that, but now I see your point. Only a little of what you said seems even remotely familiar. I overheard one of the warriors of old talking about how magic could flow however it wanted here, or something like that anyway." She rubbed her head, trying to decipher how magic worked.

Govegein tested the flow, it moved like he remembered. He hadn't felt this since that fateful night he was thrown out of time. He felt good. The magika hardened around him like a protective shell and he gathered even more in his feet. In a ball of fire, Govegein shot into the air towards the portal. Lydia was thrown aside by the shockwave.

In the portal, bone grew into a skeleton and flesh grew around it. Govegein's soul found its new home without trouble and continued its path through the portal. He shot out of the portal's mouth and into something else. He knocked into something and grabbed at something else that came with him as he tumbled to the ground. The thrill of the magika flow turned to pain and Govegein was forced to lean on what he had picked up. The fires around him died down and he noticed two figures in front of him. Raddin and Nahkriin watched stunned as he stepped out of the flames. "What!?" Raddin shouted.

"What? Was I put together wrong?" Govegein asked, examining himself. "Everything seems relatively normal, but I get the feeling Arkay didn't make this body." He seemed to look the same on the outside, but something was off. He couldn't place it but something was different, almost like his blood was on fire and his skin was thicker than stone. He felt like he had teeth sharper than the strongest blades and could crush stone easily. But he knew none of that was true, it was just a feeling below the surface so faint he could barely sense it.

"Why are you naked? How are you alive? What in oblivion just happened?" Raddin continued.

"Oh, I appear to be naked. Nahkriin give me your Mask, I'm going to need the armor inside."

"Fos? Nid!" the Dragon Priest said, rising to his feet.

"Drop the Dovahzul act and give me your Mask," Govegein pressed, his hand out and reaching for the mask.

"I will not yield to a filthy half-breed backstabber," the words were harsh coming from Nahkriin's dry throat. Fire burned in his hands.

"Nahkriin, if you try what I think you are trying, you will kill yourself," Govegein said. "We both know your mask locked you out of it, only giving what it would to any person who it does not recognize." The fire grew in intensity as Nahkriin rose his hands. "Ask yourself when did your thoughts move from 'I will protect those that stand with me,' to, 'I will end all who stand against me'. You are not the man I entrusted the mask with anymore." The fire flared as the spell became ready. Govegein pointed the staff at Nahkriin his face darkening, "Goodbye, old friend." Fire fought with fire as the blast from Nahkriin's spell met with waves from Govegein's staff. Raddin hid behind his shield, an enchantment holding them together. The two dragons perched over the scene had watched in silence.

Nahkriin's robes and mask lay in a pile of ash. Govegein bent down to pick up the mask. Raddin looked to where the portal to Sovngarde had been, it closed when Govegein took the staff. Govegein rose the mask to his face. As the mask touched flesh, the purple flames of a summons from oblivion wreathed around him. When they died down, Govegein was clad in a suit of ebony armor. Dragon heads emblazoned the suit and folds of black cloth covered much of the armor, giving the look of robes. Govegein walked up the steps to the platform.

"Was that one of your old friends?" Raddin asked. "The ones who banished you?"

"Yes," Govegein replied, replacing the staff. The portal reopened, tearing a hole in the stone floor as it spun. He jumped into the portal.

"I see," Raddin said before following Govegein once again.

* * *

**You didn't think I let him stay dead did you?**


	24. Sovngarde

Chapter 23- Sovngarde

"Did you die again already?" Lydia said as Govegein emerged from the portal.

"How long did it take you to think that one up?" he replied as Raddin emerged.

"Lydia!" Raddin shouted, hugging his deceased housecarl. "Can we take her with us?"

"No, the Aedra don't like undoing death, I doubt that any of them would do it again for us," Lydia said. "It is good to see you again, my thane. Although, I kind of hoped that it would have taken longer."

Raddin looked around at his surroundings for the first time. "What is the deal with all of this fog?"

"Alduin," Govegein said. "He is using it to trap lost souls who cannot find their way to the Hall of Valor. Those inside easily become lost and lose all hope. Not to mention Alduin knows everything that happens within."

"Clear Skies may be able to cut us a path for a short while," Raddin said. He approached the swirling mists and shouted, "Lok Vah Koor." The mists melted away at the sound of his voice and a path became clear. "Govegein, would you mind explaining the armor while we walk?" He was curious as to just what he had witnessed in Skuldafn, maybe an explanation of the masks and armor would help to enlighten him.

"If you insist," Govegein sighed. "It is a kind of defense mechanism that I installed into all of the Masks I forged. We were in constant war at the time, our leaders needed protection. I forged each set of armor for each of the Priests. The masks themselves are a different story, they needed to be bound to one wearer, and thus sealed away a portion of their soul in order to enhance their powers. Nahkriin, for instance, was a master in both Destruction and Restoration magics, his Mask, Vengeance, mirrored this mastery in that it absorbed hostile energies and converted them into friendly energies. His Armor, on the other hand, fills the areas he was weak in, namely any kind of physical activity."

"So why didn't he use it when we fought him?" Raddin asked. "Lok Vah Koor." It was not really much of a fight, more like a suicide, but Raddin wanted to know why.

"Remember when I said a part of his soul was used in the mask? That also served to ensure no one else could access its power," Govegein replied. "If the Mask does not recognize the user, it will seal off most functions, the enchantments, though, were so powerful that some of it would still seep through, effecting any wearer. The armor is bound to a small plane of Oblivion, rather ingenious if I do say so myself, it can only be summoned with the corresponding mask."

"But what stopped Nahkriin from using it?" Raddin asked again. "Lok Vah Koor."

"Tough to say. Enchantments are difficult, and ones that powerful could never be controlled by only a fraction of a soul. It took many souls to enchant these artifacts, it would not be surprising if all of that life energy merged itself into some kind of rudimentary consciousness."

"Wait do you mean that you are wearing a person?" Lydia asked.

"No, not quite," Govegein replied. "The masks do not have a will of their own, I don't think, I'm just saying that these masks can choose who to give unimaginable power to."

"Lok Vah Koor. Kind of scary," Raddin said.

"My mask is a different story," Govegein said. "Nine fractions of souls were used in its enchantment. The other priests and I bound a part of ourselves to the Mask and it took on properties of all of them. It did not have a set of armor, per say, and it's enchantment is rather weak even for what it is, but this binding technique also allowed me to contact and summon any of the priests at any time. If someone else wore my Mask they might be able to summon one shade if their life depended on it."

"What about that thing that you said about shortcuts?" Lydia asked. She remembered him mentioning it before he resurrected.

"In theory," Govegein began, "the masks could serve as a separate flow of Magika so a user does not hurt themselves by using an arcane channel." They reached the whalebone bridge by the time Govegein finished his lecture on the theoretical usage of Magika through a channeling device, and the theoretical consequences of using a channel of magic that was no longer used.

Lydia ran across the bridge, "No, no more talk of magic. I think you are killing my brain." Govegein swore he could hear laughter as he watched her sprint into the Hall.

As Govegein and Raddin approached, Tsun stood in their way. "Both of you are alive. By what right do you ask to pass this bridge of the dead?"

"Tsun, this time I am getting into the Hall of Valor, you cannot stop me. I pass by right of power." Govegein said, stepping up to the giant Nord. Govegein was tall by his own right, but Tsun could tower over any mortal.

"Then prove your right," Tsun said, drawing a great battleaxe. Govegein picked Tsun up and tossed him off of the bridge.

"This thing could give even Nahkriin the strength of a dragon," Govegein explained as Tsun rematerialized at the other side of the bridge. "What do you think I could do in it?"

"Fine you may pass, this time," Tsun said to Govegein. Govegein walked past as Tsun turned to Raddin and asked him what right he had to cross the bridge. Govegein decided to wait inside the Hall as Raddin attempted to pass his test.

The mead hall was vast and packed with powerful Nords straight out of the pages of history. Govegein recognized a few of them. "Jurgen!" he shouted at one who was lifting a barrel of mead to his mouth.

"Bei!? I thought that you wound up in some godforsaken plane of Oblivion. What are you doing here?" Jurgen Windcaller asked, thrilled to see his old drinking buddy.

"I'm not even dead yet. Well I was, but now I'm not. It is a long story," Govegein said.

"Tell me the story over a barrel my friend," the founder of the Way of the Voice said.

"I'd rather hear yours, I hear you fought in a war several centuries after the Dragon Wars," Govegein said.

"I tried to quit mead and Sanguine decided that I could only die if I drank myself to death," Jurgen laughed. "You see how well that turned out for him, I got to live several more centuries, starting a new religion, and he lost a soul to Shor."

Raddin ran into the Hall, "You left me out there!" he shouted at Govegein. "I had to push Tsun off of the bridge with a shout." He slumped over, catching his breath. "I might not be let back in after that."

"There are people here that have done worse than you, Dragonborn," Hakon said. He and Felldir approached Raddin as he righted himself.

"Hello, Hakon," Govegein said.

"Gormlaith, put down the axe and meet the Dragonborn," Hakon said.

Govegein turned to see a disappointed Gormlaith drop a battleaxe to her side and walk towards Raddin. Raddin was explaining the situation to Felldir and Hakon. "So we need the help of you warriors in this final fight with Alduin," Raddin finished.

"Shor has stopped most of us from acting, we are locked inside the Hall," Gormlaith said.

"Maybe if it is just the three of us, along with the Dragonborn and that Priest," Hakon said.

"Not a Priest," Govegein said. "Technically . . . anymore."

"We might be able to fight then," Felldir said. The three ancient warriors walked towards the massive doors of the Hall of Valor. When they pushed, the door yielded and moved. "Meet us on the other side of the Whalebone Bridge," Felldir said as he left.

"This is it, isn't it?" Raddin said. "The final fight. The weight of the world is on our shoulders. If we fail, the world falls. Are you ready?" He turned to see Govegein drinking from a barrel of mead held by Jurgen Windcaller. "Put down the mead."

Another bout of laughter filled Govegein's head. Govegein wiped mead off of Nahkriin, "I told you that it would not work," he said to Jurgen. Turning to Raddin the said, "Let's go kill ourselves a World Eater."

* * *

Govegein met the other warriors on the far side of the Whalebone Bridge. The fog sat spread out before them, swirling about, uncaring, and oblivious to what would soon happen.

"We cannot fight the foe in this mist!" Felldir said.

Gormlaith had an idea, "Clear Skies - combine our Shouts!"

The three Tongues and the Dragonborn shouted together, "Lok Vah Koor!"

The mists began to recede. "Again!" Gormlaith shouted.

Before the warriors were ready, a voice shouted from the fog, "Ven Mul Riik!" The mists returned in full force, blanketing the land around the warriors.

"We can shatter his power if we Shout together!" Felldir said. It was true, the power of four voices could break Alduin's hold, but Alduin could just as easily take it back.

"Lok Vah Koor!" the four shouted again. Govegein watched the skies from behind them. The ethereal clouds swirling in a seemingly endless void.

"Ven Mul Riik!" The words were harsh as the fog grew again.

"Does his strength have no end? Is our struggle in vain?" Hakon asked, his will beginning to fail. The continuous use of the Thu'um could not be good for the warriors, no matter how skilled they are.

"Stand fast! His strength is failing!" Gormlaith said, "Once more, and his might will be broken!"

"His power crumbles - do not pause for breath!" Feldir was intent on finishing this.

"Lok Vah Koor!" Once again the four voices sounded as one. They waited, no voice called for the return of the mists. Soon enough a black form shot upwards out of the mist. Alduin flew towards the five who dared stand against him. With a breath he called a storm of fire and stone.

Govegein met this attack with a massive barrier of arcane energy over the warriors' heads. His ward sent the stones back in the direction they came from, hurling themselves endlessly into the void. Alduin growled, but as soon as he was within range Raddin met him with Dragonrend, "Joor Zah Frul!"

Alduin roared, plummeting to the ground where the Tongues waited for him. They began the assault, blades cutting into the massive dragon. "Ahraan Yol Qah," Alduin shouted and fire erupted from his wounds. The fire seemed to wrap around him, covering him like a second set of scales. The Tongues backed away as Raddin ran towards the dragon. He cut at Alduin's maw, lightning arcing through the fire. "Viidost-" Alduin began. Govegein conjured another ward and pushed Raddin back from the dragon. "Veistul Dinok!" As the dragon finished a torrent of venom spewed out of his mouth.

"Amazing, Alduin is getting serious. Normally he would not waste such words on a mortal," Govegein said. He had only seen Alduin fight like this once before, and that was against an army of Daedra. The effects of Dragonrend wore off and Alduin's wounds closed, extinguishing his armor.

Alduin began to take to the skies again as Hakon shouted at him, "Joor Zah Frul!" The Dragon hit the ground again.

As he righted himself, Alduin turned to Hakon and shouted, "Wuld-" The dragon barreled into the Nord as the words caught up to him, "Nah Kest!" He pushed Hakon to the edge of the chasm that the Whalebone Bridge spanned. With a spin, Alduin sent Hakon flying with his tail. The dragon laughed as he set his sights on Gormlaith. "Lok Qo Feim!" A jolt of ethereal lightning shot through Govegein's shield and hit Gormlaith. As she fell, Alduin turned to Felldir. "Gron Aus Ul!" Thorny vines grew at Felldir's feet and ensnared him, cutting into his flesh. Felldir cried out in pain as Alduin approached. Raddin dashed forward, cutting into Alduin, the dragon kept walking as if Raddin was not even there. Govegein blocked Alduin's path with wards, as the dragon tore through them they exploded. Alduin reached Felldir and in one swift movement tore the old man in half.

The effects of Dragonrend faded and Alduin laughed before shouting, "Ven Mul Riik!" The mists once again closed around Govegein and Raddin. Without the help of the Tongues, they could not hold the mists off for long. Govegein saw Alduin rise out of the fog. Concentrating his Magika, he focused on the area around Alduin, before the dragon could pick up any speed, and Govegein set the air on fire.

Alduin fell again in a ball of fire. Govegein pointed towards where Alduin fell. "Joor Zah Frul!" the blast sent the mists swirling.

A moment later, Alduin replied, "Nah Yem Kaagend!" A massive ball of fire tore through the mists towards the two remaining warriors. Govegein froze the mists into a wall of ice. He ran towards the Bane of Kings, destructive magic gathering in his hands. When Govegein saw the dragon in the mists, he released the built up energy. The pure energy released from the blast blew the mists away and tore into Alduin. The Bane of Kings was flipped over, his wings torn off along with much of his protective armor. As he rose to his feet Dragonrend began to fade. "Meyus joor. I am the son of Akatosh. Did you truly think that you could kill a god?"

"No," Govegein said. "Although, my friend might." Alduin's scales began to regrow as Raddin rushed the crippled dragon. The mists had begun to flow back into place and Alduin's back grew two wing stubs as Raddin reached him. By the time Dragonbane had entered Alduin's skull, the wings and scales had finished growing.

"Zu'u unslaad! Zu'u nis oblaan!" Alduin shouted, writhing in pain, tearing Dragonbane out of Raddin's hands. From their Alduin seemed to explode, Raddin watched, entranced, as the souls of mortals that Alduin had eaten escaped and flew into Aetherious. Alduin's flesh melted away into a black sludge that fell from his skeleton, the ground steamed where it touched the sludge. Finally, Alduin's soul was pulled from the decaying body into Govegein. The fires of Alduin's soul raged within Govegein before being again pulled away and into Aetherious.

"What . . . in Oblivion . . . was that!" Govegein shouted, out of breath. _The energy must go somewhere_ something called out within Govegein's head. _It would seem Akatosh picked you to be its new vessel_. The voice was soft, familiar, yet held the sounds of many.

Tsun, Lydia, and the Tongues approached the two warriors. The Tongues had been brought back to the Hall of Valor at the time of their deaths. "This was a mighty dead!" Tsun exclaimed. "The doom of Alduin encompassed at last, and cleansed is Sovngarde of his evil snare. They will sing of this battle in Shor's hall forever. But your fates lie elsewhere." He turned to Raddin, "When you have completed your count of days, I may welcome you again, with glad friendship, and bid you to join the blessed feasting. When you are ready to rejoin the living, just bid me so, and I will send you back."

The wayward souls of Sovngarde began to find their way to the Whalebone Bridge. "I'm ready to return to Tamriel," Raddin said.

"Return now to Nirn, with this rich boon from Shor, my lord: a Shout to bring a hero from Sovngarde in your hour of need," Tsun said. He looked towards the two dragon slayers and shouted, "Nahl Dal Vus!"

In a flash of light, the heroes were back atop the Throat of the World. "Alduin mahlaan!" The words shook the mountain and Govegein realized that he and Raddin were surrounded by hundreds of Dragons. Most circled the peak while a few sat atop it.

"Sahrot thur qahnaraan." one of the dragons who sat atop the peak said as he flew to join the circling dragons.

"Alduin mahlaan!"

"Dovahkiin los ok dovahkriid," another spoke before he too flew away.

"Alduin mahlaan!"

"Thu'umii los nahlot," a third said before joining his brethren.

"Alduin mahlaan!"

"Mu los vomir," the final dragon said before he too left.

"So," Paarthunax said from behind the warriors, "it is done, Alduin dilan. The Eldest is no more, he who came before all others and has always been." Govegein stepped away from the conversation. This was meant for Raddin and Govegein's job was done in this quest. He descended the mountain to ask the Greybeards for a spare change of clothes.

* * *

**So, yeah a few minor changes to the story of the masks and something else inside Govegein that will come into play in Dragonpriests.**

**So what's left? Uh, the epilogue that I feel like putting in and maybe a Bollywood dance number if we have time to train the trolls. **


	25. Epilogue

Epilogue

Govegein sat atop the Throat of the World alone. The Greybeards had given him a spare set of their robes and what was left of his armor. Paarthunax had left on a journey to meet with the remaining dragons and attempt to convince them to live in peace. Raddin was in High Hrothgar celebrating the end of the end of the world. Govegein suspected some other people may attend the celebration, but for now he wanted to contemplate alone.

What had happened to him in Sovngarde? What did Akatosh do to his new body? And what was that voice? Govegein guessed that he could answer one of those questions right away as he looked at the mask in his hands. It was a simple mask, made of pure ebony and enchanted with amazing power, but on the surface still just a mask. Govegein held it up before him, looking into its eyes. They seemed to look straight back at him examining him as he examined the mask.

Govegein sighed and turned the mask around, bringing it up to his face. As the ebony toughed skin, he heard _Hello father_. Govegein jumped and dropped the mask, but he was no longer on the Monahven. It is so good to actually meet you in person. They stood on a black plane fire lighting up the sky. Govegein stood across from a figure wearing Nahkriin. No, not wearing, the mask was its face. _Last time we were together, my wearer tried to kill you. I guess you saw what happened to him as a result._

"What do you mean? Did you make Odaanen cast that spell?" Govegein thought back to Skuldafm and how Nahkriin attempted to kill Govegein and Raddin.

_Oh, please father, even I am not that powerful. I simply . . . withheld my power from him_. The figure stood straighter, as if it was proud of what it had done. An effigy rode from the black ground, almost melting out of it. It was Odaanen, Nahkriin, and the figure picked it up, examining it. _I suppose he was as much my father as you, I seem to get my temper from him._

"What are you?" Govegein asked. He could not believe what he was seeing.

_You've already figured it out, haven't you? I am Vengeance, the culmination of all of the souls used in creating the mask._ But that was impossible, the souls were used as fuel for the enchantment. It was unlikely that the mask could choose the wearer as it was, but that should be all that it could do. Now it grew its own consciousness? _I do hope that we can do this again sometime, oh and find my brothers, your other half calls us._

The mask fell in the snow at Govegein's feet. The entire vision had happened in the instant that the mask was on his face. His other half? Its brothers? Was this why Akatosh wanted him back in the world of the living? To find the other priests and take their masks before they fell into the wrong hands, or worse before the priests regain enough power.

Govegein picked Nahkriin up again, but there was nothing. Vengeance was asleep, saving its power for when it needed it. "Still not an actual life I guess," Govegein muttered. He descended the Monahven to join Raddin in his celebration.

* * *

**Thanks to all those that read this, hope you had fun. To those that read the first iteration of this, I hope you liked the changes. To those that did not, you did not read that last sentence, there was no first iteration, and this story has always been like this.**

**Hope to see you all again in the future. **


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